Aarmugam, our boatman, explains that the boatmen from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have a mutual understanding. "We don't go across the Karnataka border and ferry tourists coming in from that side and the same applies to the boatman from Karnataka," he said.
Arjun, a boatman from Karnataka, says that he always has lunch with the boatmen from Tamil Nadu. He agrees that the whole dispute is political and crops up only during the election year. Arjun adds that thanks to this ongoing dispute, the tourist inflow from Karnataka has come down drastically.
Tourists from Karnataka are scared to enter Hogenakkal through Tamil Nadu, he says. Though the tension spilling over from the Hogenakkal issue is palpable in Banagalore and Chennai, at ground zero of the conflict, there are barely any indications of it.
Image: Hogenakkal is an extremely popular tourist destination
Also read: The Cauvery Water Dispute 
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