Works to be completed by January 2020

Mysuru: All roads leading up to Chamundi Hill temple are being asphalted and potholes being filled. A retaining wall is being constructed at the portion of land between View Point and Nandi Statue that had collapsed due to incessant rains in the month of October this year. 

The Public Works Department has taken up all the works at an estimated cost of Rs. 10 crore and is personally being supervised by PWD Executive Engineer. Rs. 50 lakh is being spent on constructing the retaining wall on the land between View Point and Nandi Statue and no tenders had been called for the work as it fell under the “emergency works” category. 

Fifty percent of works have been completed and the officials are hoping to complete the retaining wall works by the end of this month. The retaining wall is 25 feet high and 70 feet wide and covers all the portion of the land that had caved in. 

A 10-feet concrete base has been set up to withstand the weight of the retaining wall and the contractor is using Raft Concrete Technology with concrete and iron roads — for stability and sturdiness — to complete the works. The curing part of the works will take time as the concrete needs to set, said Dasharath, the work contractor. 

As the works on the road is quickly under progress, the stretch between View Point and Nandi Statue has been closed for vehicular and human movement. An immediate fallout of this is that business atop the Nandi Statue and surrounding areas has been paralysed with no takers for the wares sold by vendors. 

Following the land caving in and the PWD officials taking up the construction of the retaining wall, PWD authorities decided to take up works on other dilapidated roads around the Hill. Also, Mysuru District Minister V. Somanna had directed the officials to take up other roads leading up to the Hill. The roads were ridden with potholes and were in pathetic condition. It was a nightmare to commute on these roads. 

Works have begun on asphalting the stretch from Tavarekatte Junction (Arch Gate) to Nandi Statue. The 2.3 kilometre road is being repaired at a cost of Rs. 2 crore. Jelly stones and asphalt are being used to re-lay the road where the stretches had become pathetic. 

Even the road from Uthanahalli Road Junction on Nanjangud Road that links Chamundi Hill Main Road is being repaired. This 1.2 km road (also called the Jwalamukhi Road) has been given to Yogananda on contract. The existing 3.45-metre road is being widened to 5.5. metre at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.2 crore. 

Also, the road between Kurubarahalli Junction and the Chamundeshwari Temple is being asphalted and repaired at an estimated cost of Rs. 4 crore. PWD officials said that their Executive Engineer Vinay has taken keen interest in the project and has given a deadline till the end of January 2020.