Sir,

Apropos the recent reports in  Star of Mysore on the subject of Chamundi Hill’s destruction, I would like to look at the problem from the groundwater point of view. In fact my view strongly supports the earlier public outcry against the government’s thoughtless moves.

From the study of the topographic map of the Chamundi Hill area, one can see a large flattish area of about 2.5 square kilometres at the very top of the Hill. For centuries, this flattish area encompassed only the Chamundeshwari Temple. So during the heavy rainy season while the rain water along the slope of the Hill flowed downhill, a substantial portion of the rain water on the top of the Hill got absorbed into the ground and thus helped in retaining some of this water as underground water. This was beneficial for the entire Hill from ecological point of view.

With the new massive construction in this flattish area, we are deprived of this benefit. Recent photographs on the social media of mini waterfalls in many places along the road to the top of the Hill as well as water gushing along the walking steps is a clear indication that rain water is not seeping into the ground at the top of the Hill!

On top of this, with additional construction of shops etc., there would be many more new roads and naturally landsharks would step in. I dread the day when Chamundi Betta would look like the famous Malabar Hills of Mumbai. Do ‘Mysuruvasis’ really want it? I believe not.

– U.B. Acharya on e-mail, Jayalakshmipuram, 22.6.2018

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