Residents urge Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

Mysore/Mysuru: Residents of Chamundi Hill have urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah not to merge their area into the Greater Mysuru limits, insisting that it should remain under the existing Chamundi Hill Gram Panchayat jurisdiction.

The villagers met Siddaramaiah at his T.K. Layout residence on Monday and submitted a memorandum.

They pointed out that Chamundi Hill is the smallest Gram Panchayat in the State and, being both a religious and tourist destination, its traditional character and heritage must be preserved.

They emphasised that Chamundi Hill and Thavarekatte already have separate Gram Panchayats and any local issues can be resolved at that level.

The villagers warned that inclusion under Greater Mysuru would trigger large-scale development projects, which could destabilise and damage parts of the eco-sensitive Hill, especially since it falls within a protected forest zone.

Responding to the appeal, Siddaramaiah assured the villagers that he would thoroughly examine the matter.

Among those present were Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Chief Priest Dr. N. Shashishekar Dixit, Gram Panchayat President Nagamma, Vice-President Ravikumar, Members Bharath, Manjunath and Mahadevaswamy, local leaders Doreswamy, Mangal Kumar and Shambulinga and Chamundi Betta Hitarakshana Samithi President Sridhar and others.