New constructions will erode religious sanctity; commercialise Hill: Former Mayor B.L. Bhyrappa
Mysore/Mysuru: The administrative approval from the Centre to the holistic development of Chamundi Hill under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme at an estimated cost of Rs. 45.70 crore, has stirred up activists in the city, who are preparing for a confrontation with the authorities.
There are growing voices against the development where activists have raised concerns about the necessity of undertaking new constructions on Chamundi Hill, considering its ecological fragility.
Addressing a press conference at Patrakarthara Bhavan in city on Sunday, former Mayor B.L. Bhyrappa has warned against any further constructions on Chamundi Hill as it is gradually transforming into a concrete jungle, eroding its natural beauty. He noted that the development will damage the ecological balance of the Hill and destroy its natural beauty.
The PRASHAD scheme aims to develop Chamundi Hill as a major tourist destination. The plan includes the construction of a number of new facilities, such as mantaps, shopping complexes, concrete steps, paths, railings, fountains and food courts. He argued that these developments will only attract more tourists to the Hill, which will put a strain on its resources and damage the environment.
He raised concerns about the lack of public consultation on the PRASHAD scheme and said that the Government has not properly considered the views of the local community before approving the scheme. Welcoming Mysuru District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa’s statement that Chamundi Hill will be preserved ecologically, Bhyrappa said that the Government must halt over-exploitation of the city’s green space.
“The protests against the development of Chamundi Hill have been gaining momentum in the recent months. Activists have held a number of demonstrations and public meetings but unfortunately, the Government has gone ahead approving the project. Any development atop Chamundi Hill must be taken up with public consultation” he said.
Bhyrappa said that the development will damage the ecological balance of the Hill and destroy its natural beauty.
“The development will only attract more tourists to the Chamundi Hill, which will put a strain on its resources and damage the environment. These constructions will erode the religious sanctity of the Hill and will commercialise it. The Hill is a valuable asset to the city of Mysuru and it is important to ensure that it is developed in a sustainable manner,” he added.
My suggestion is to build a devotee/ tourist complex in the foothills in few acres of land. Let the complex have restrooms , toilets, restaurants and all other facilities. let all tourist buses ,taxis and private cars reach this complex .There should be enough parking space for thousand vehicles.VIP cars and two wheelers of local people be allowed up the hill and can be parked in the present parking lot on top.Rest of the visitors should take the electric buses available at the tourist complex to reach the hill.let there be free ticketing counters and a hand band of different colours with bar code be issued to devotees/ tourists with each colour representing a time window of 3 hours.The electric bus crew and the guard at the check post on top should check that only people with that particular colour hand band are allowed on top of the hill during that particular time slot.This will distribute the amount of devotees / tourists on top of the hill evenly throughout the day and will reduce the load of tourists/devotees at a time on the hill The queues will be manageable and such queue mantaps will not be required.Even though religious tourist will be there to the shrine , I feel this amount of concrete work will spoil the beauty of Chamundi hills . so my request is plan all your development with the money sanctioned on the foothills and let us not spoil the beauty of Chamundi hills which is a USP (unique selling proposition) of Mysuru ,that you have a hill shrine with such greenery so close to a city.
I think MCC and MUDA should develop Chamundi Hills like Banjara Hills and Malabar Hills and sell estate size sites for the Rich and famous.
@Sanjay Kini
You seem to be on drug induced dream to suggest things that are not going to work. Just shut up .