No more jolly ride on Chamundi Hill Road

Mysuru: – Following the death of two youngsters atop the Chamundi Hill last week in a hit-and-run accident, the District Administration and the Police have banned jolly rides on the Hill Road.  The ban has been enforced since the last three days and the number of youngsters, who come to the Hill on fun trips, have come down by 20 percent, said the Police.

Twenty-one-year-old M.C. Namana and Aravinda Rao of JSS College were killed atop Chamundi Hill on the night of July 5 when an SUV knocked down their bike near the Watch  Tower Junction.

In the wake of this incident, the Police are now allowing only devotees to the top of the Hill and are preventing the entry of students and youth who come there on jolly trips. A vehicle checking point has been set up at Tavarekatte for this purpose.

It may be recalled here that the District Administration had banned entry to Chamundi Hill after 10 pm and after the ban was implemented in May 2017, jolly night rides on two-wheelers and four-wheelers up to the Hill were curbed. As a step further, those vehicles that proceed up the Hill will now have to undergo checks at Tavarekatte before proceeding up the Hill till 10 pm.

According to the Police, a number of youths come to the Hill after 5 pm and the crowd increases between 6 pm and 8 pm. Most of the youths, a majority of them students at various city colleges and PG accommodations, come in two-wheelers and park their vehicles near the View Points and near the designated parking areas at the Temple.

“While only a few of them go to the temple, most of the youngsters just while away time and indulge in smoking and drinking. They ride their bikes irresponsibly and put their lives under risk. They alight from the Hill with their vehicle engines and headlights switched off and this leads to accidents as the oncoming vehicle cannot see the approaching bikes,” said N. Muniyappa, Siddarthanagar Traffic Inspector.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Muniyappa said that they had received many complaints regarding the youths misbehaving with fellow visitors. “The inhabitants of the Hill, fed up with the illegal activities and the disturbance created due to drinking, dancing and other unlawful activities had complained to the administration to put a halt to such activities. “We will not take the issue lightly anymore and have intensified the checks from 5 pm to 10 pm,” he added.

The ban on jolly rides has made a good impact. Muniyappa said that ever since the ban has been enforced, there is a drastic decline in the number of youths who come in bikes and four-wheelers atop the Hill. “We hope that the accident rates will also come down,” he said.