Final decision on Ropeway Project after discussing with stakeholders: Minister Somanna
Mysuru: With lakhs of devotees visiting Chamunde-shwari Hill temple every year, there is a proposal before the Government to provide a Golden Chariot at a cost of Rs.7 crore to the temple on the lines of Sringeri temple, said District Minister V. Somanna.
Speaking to press-persons after performing guddali puja for a commercial complex atop Chamundi Hill here this morning, Somanna said that the proposal will be discussed at the next Cabinet meeting, following which mea-sures will be taken for providing the Golden Chariot (Suvarna Ratha).
On Ropeway: Replying to a query on plans for the Ropeway Project at Chamundi Hill, the Minister said that there is a proposal before the Government for the Ropeway which largely helps in controlling air pollution and the matter was discussed at the Government level only yesterday.
The Ropeway at Palani, Haridwar and Rishikesh shrines have been inspected and the Government is studying the pros and cons of the project at Chamundi Hill.
Asserting that the final decision on the Ropeway Project will be left to the people of Mysuru, Somanna said that all issues will be discussed with all the stakeholders before taking a final call on the Project.
Maintaining that the Chamundi Hill drinking water project is being expedited, he said that the project is expected to end the drinking water woes atop the Hill shrine, especially during the summer.
Referring to makeshift shops making a comeback atop the Hill, Minister Somanna said that ahead of Dasara festival, the district administration had cleared encroachments after complaints from the devotees, when half of the shops were given space at the multi-level parking lot closeby. However, the rest of the shops were not given alternative space then and now the new shopping complex, for which he performed guddali puja this morning, will accommodate all of them.
The makeshift shops around the Mahishasura Statue will not be allowed to exist once the complex is constructed, the works on which is expected to be complete in a couple of months, he clarified. Pointing out that the complex is coming up at a cost of Rs. 4.95 crore, he thanked the co-operation extended by MP Pratap Simha, MLA G.T. Devegowda, other people’s representatives and the district administration for bringing about a sea change in the development of Chamundi Hill.
On toilet family
On the plight of a 14-member family of the city living in a public toilet under deplorable conditions, Somanna, who is also the Housing Minister, said that he came to know of the matter from the media. He said he will discuss the issue with the authorities concerned at a meeting to take place at the ZP Hall later this afternoon, wherein he will direct the officials to carry out a survey and prepare a list of all such shelterless families in the city.
Replying to a question on making Dasara poll expenses public, he attributed the delay to various factors and said that the details of all the expenses incurred for Dasara will be announced shortly. Somanna later inspected the newly-built retaining wall along a stretch of the road near Nandi Statue, which stretch had collapsed recently. MP Pratap Simha, MLA G.T. Devegowda, DC Abhiram G. Sankar, ADC B.R. Poornima, Tahsildar Ramesh Babu and other officials were present. Earlier, the Minister performed guddali puja for the Rs. 4.95 crore shopping complex project. The complex will have a Food Zone with 25 shops, each measuring 10ftx10ft, 34 fruits, vegetables and flower shops, each measuring 5ftx6ft, 137 shops for selling puja articles, gift items, dolls, toys etc., each measuring 8ftx8ft, totally costing Rs. 3.4 crore, two toilet blocks at a cost of Rs.50 lakh and a ticket counter for the multi-level parking lot at a cost of Rs.10 lakh. Also,the road leading from the parking lot to the temple will be converted into a 4-lane at a cost of Rs. 95 lakh, which is part of the project.
Dasara sports: Cash Prizes by Jan. 5
Referring to the issue of delay in giving cash prizes to winning Dasara sportspersons, Somanna said that he came to know of this through media reports, following which he took up the issue with Director and Secretary of the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports. He has directed the Department to distribute cash prizes to all sportspersons by Jan.5, he said and added that he has expressed his regrets to the sportspersons for the delay.
Somanna holds meeting on waste disposal
After visiting Chamundi Hill, Somanna held a meeting with officials at the ZP hall, where the issue of waste disposal was discussed. Addressing the meeting, Somanna said that Force Bel company is successfully executing waste management and disposal projects at Vadodara and Nagpur. The Minister directed the district authorities to inspect the projects at Vadodara and Nagpur and submit a report on the feasibility of the project and the prospects of executing the project here.
Force Bel company presented a power-point presentation on its waste segregation, management and disposal plants, where the collected wastes are effectively converted into bio-fertilizers.
MP Pratap Simha, Mayor Pushpalatha Jagannath, DC Abhiram G. Sankar, MCC Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde, ZP CEO K.Jyothi and other officials were present at the meeting.
Yes ! Yes ! Yes !
What this country desperately needs is golden chariots ,diamond stuuded crowns for the deities , huge statues of dead leaders costing thousands of crores etc
Of course, people can live inside public toilets !!
reminds me of Easter Island fate
Yes ! Yes ! Yes !
What this country desperately needs is golden chariots ,diamond stuuded crowns for the deities , huge statues of dead leaders costing thousands of crores etc
Of course, people can live inside public toilets !!
reminds me of Easter Island’s fate
@Vipra. The occasion was the inauguration of commercial complex. This means the deity is sat inside this golden chariot and paraded , to earn money for the government, a sizeable fraction of it goes into the pockets of minsters and officials. The large statue of Patel to herald the unity of India and at the same time introducing the CAA, which is so wonderfully uniting the country!
People living in public toilets? tough luck, but focus on , IT,Digital India and Chandrayaan!
Haha, loved the Easter Island crack by Vipra! Reminded also of Shelley’s poem, Ozymandias, on a broken statue of a Persian king in the middle of the desert: ” Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, Boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.” Yes, demented priorities. Instead of farmers, jobs, tackling corruption, and a level playing field for all, as many were hoping (at least in 2014) we are seeing (besides the useless statues and bullet trains) a return to the old and trusted playbook (apparently the only thing at least the duo at the top are good at). Demonize minorities, appeal to the basest instincts, create strife and division and fish in the troubled waters and reap electoral dividends. But the harvest for the country will be bitter.
Politicians of every hue, do not care what Shelly said, as long as they can line their pockets with gold metaphorically. The Goddess is not crying for golden chariot, but the politicians in power, who are true devotees want to honour the Goddess., Do not say, it gives them the opportunity to cement their riches for their generation. This is nothing new and is not the phenomenon that is prevalent only these days.
Back in early 1950s, just less than a decade after independence, just when the country was crying out for development of priorities for liberated Indians in terms of education, skills development, jobs and infrastructure s needed to bring the nation into modern times, Kengal Hanumanthiah, thought of shifting the capital to Bengaluru, arguing that post-independent Mysuru needed a capital with a central location and yet has room for expansion. After this argument was accepted, he proposed and argued for a grand building for elected representatives that befits this nascent state. Up came, the plan for a majestic ” Vidhana Soudha” costing crores of Rupees, the nation could ill-afford. Nothing short of finely carved doors, sandalwood and marble flooring would be suffice for this edifice : after all, there was no longer colonial rule, but the rule of the people and by the people! Kengal’s chosen contractors , entrusted with this mammoth task, inflated the budget many time over when the edifice was coming up. The howl of corruption was soon silenced by appointing an enquiry which was a white wash. Kengal and his minions became very rich, so, it appeared. Nehru, had no other option, but to approve of Kengal’s approach: after all, Kengal belonged to his Party,the Congress, leaders of which sacrificed so much to usher in independence. This was so eloquently described by our high school history teacher then!
This golden chariot is keeping with that tradition. so is the mammoth statue of Patel which stands like the ancient Colossus of Rhodes! Indian politicians in power know better!! The poor living in public toilets? They should trust the politicians in power, who would build better toilets for them to live in!
I love your (often acid) comments, Strange world! You shoot from the hip and leave no prisoners! Yes, as the old testament says “There is no new thing under the sun.” (Funnily enough, I first read that in the book of the agnostic Bertrand Russell). With your scholarship in Sanskrit you could probably come up with something similar from our Upanishads. After all, these insights too are not limited to one culture or civilization!