Mysuru/Bengaluru: The State Government’s grandiose plans of building a Disneyland-like Amusement Park at the iconic Krishna Raja Sagar Dam in Mandya District is inching towards reality with the architects submitting the Detailed Project Report to project implementers tomorrow.

While a high-level meeting took place in Bengaluru last evening to decide on the main project attractions and the money to be mobilised to execute the project, a separate meeting was held at Mandya Deputy Commissioner’s Office this morning to speed up land acquisition for the mega project.

As per the government plans, a 350-feet tall statue of Mother Cauvery will be installed at the Dam. It has proposed to build a museum complex, two glass towers measuring 360 feet providing a bird’s eye view of the KRS Reservoir, a band stand, an indoor stadium and a replica of historical monuments to boost tourism in the region. The total estimated cost of the project is about Rs. 2,000 crore.

The high-level meeting in Bengaluru was held by Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Tourism Minister S.R. Mahesh along with officials from Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL), Water Resources and Tourism Departments. The meeting was held based on the design submitted by Jaipur-based Sincere Architects.  

Shivakumar said a new Lake would be created next to the Reservoir on which the new structures will come up.  The statue of Cauvery will be installed atop the museum complex and between the two glass towers. It will be as tall as around 12-storey building and will be taller than the KRS Dam. The government hopes to rope in private investors for the project. Except land, the government is not investing anything, he said.

The Cauvery statue will be 350 feet tall and will stand on a 125 feet base from where visitors can view the Dam from the viewer’s gallery. The statue will be built alongside a not-so-tall statue of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar.

Global tenders

The proposed project will be placed before the Cabinet to take a decision on calling for global tenders. The project will come up in 400 acres land and apart from that another 300 acres of land will be reserved for the same. The Minister said that while implementing the project care would be taken not to disturb the heritage nature of the KRS and Brindavan Gardens.

Minister Mahesh said that the project will be taken up on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model and that tenders would be floated in the next two months. Stating that River Cauvery was a symbol of motherhood, Mahesh said the government wanted to reflect the strong sentiment of Kannadigas for Cauvery ‘thayi’ through the statue.

The statue will assume the form of a woman holding a tipped pot, out of which water will pour out continuously. Water will be pumped up the statue to achieve this effect, he said.

Amusement Park

“The highlight of the project will be the Disneyland-like Amusement Park. The project will also include various theme parks like Penguin Park and Aromatherapy Park. There will be a street with replicas of historical monuments like Hampi, Belur and Halebeed. There will also be hotels and food courts,” Mahesh said. There is also a proposal to build a wax museum housing replicas of iconic personalities from the State and the country.

Currently, the government is getting around Rs. 6 crore as annual revenue and once Disneyland-like Amusement Park comes up the annual turnover of  KRS is expected to touch around Rs. 300 crore and the State government hopes to generate an income of Rs. 30 crore a year. The project is expected to be completed within two years, Shivakumar said.

‘Speed up land acquisition’, Directs Mandya DC Manjushree

Mandya: Mandya Deputy Commissioner N. Manjushree has directed the officials to speed up the land acquisition process for building a Disneyland-like Amusement Park at KRS Dam.

After the high-level meeting  in Bengaluru last evening, Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar called the Mandya DC over phone and asked her to acquire additional land apart from the available land (over 200 acres) at KRS.

Shivakumar asked the DC to acquire more land at the North side of the KRS Dam at Chikkayarahalli and hand it over to the CNNL. As per the Minister’s Directive, a meeting was held at the Mandya DC’s Office this morning that was attended by CNNL Executive Engineer Basavarajegowda, Superintending Engineer Ravindra Vasudev, Tahsildars of Srirangapatna, Mandya and Pandavapura Taluks, Mandya Assistant Commissioner, Special Land Acquisition Officer and Revenue Records Officer.

Manjushree directed the officers to visit the Dam and surrounding areas tomorrow along with maps and original records to identify lands for the project. They have been asked to list out the available Gomala (government land) at the North side of the KRS and submit a report immediately. The DC has also asked the officials to survey the lands that have already been handed over to private parties.