KALPETTA: A bus stop in a remote village in Wayanad has turned into an ‘Insta’ spot, thanks to the beautiful purple flowers on its roof.

Located on the Sultan Bathery-Pattavayal Road in Nambikolly, the beauty of the stop makes people pause, whip out their phones and click a selfie to post on Instagram and other social media platforms.

Behind the place’s appeal is over a decade worth of hard work put in by Joy Kottukkara and E S Varghese, both local residents. Joy, a daily wage labourer, and Varghese, a farmer, planted a wild garlic plant at the stop and have been nurturing it for the past 12 years.

“We planted the wild garlic plant a decade ago thinking that it would avoid snakes owing to its scent and that it would provide more shade at the stop. We have been watering it and nurturing it all these years. The purple flowers bloom every monsoon season.

Later, everyone, including autorickshaw drivers, traders as well as school and office-goers, started helping us maintain the plant,” Varghese said. He said the bus stop gained more popularity this year, and many youngsters have started clicking pictures in front of the place and posting them on Instagram.

The bus stop at Nambikolly is in stark contrast to stops that leak in the monsoon season or cause inconvenience to people due to damaged roofs or broken electrical wires. The place is also a testament to the success of public participation in maintaining bus stops.

“There was a time when miscreants and drunkards would camp at the stop at night. Then Joy and Varghese came forward and transformed the place that was used by hundreds of school students. The bus stop has now become a landmark and none dares to make it dirty,” said Biju S, a resident.