No more parking woes atop Chamundi Hill

• Soon, multi-level automated parking facility can accommodate 1,200 cars
• District Minister, PWD Minister scheduled to inspect project today

Mysore: Parking woes atop the iconic Chamundi Hill will soon be a thing of the past as the works on completing the multi-level automated three-level parking project is on full swing. Apart from parking, there are a host of other facilities that are provided to the devotees including a 500-metre walkway from the parking lot to the temple. This walkway is covered at the top to protect devotees from sun and rain.

Mysuru District Minister G.T. Devegowda, accompanied by Public Works Department (PWD) Minister H.D. Revanna and a battery of officials, was scheduled to visit the Hill today afternoon to see the progress of the works. The project,  undertaken by the PWD, includes the multi-level parking, walkway and new 116 shops built for the vendors to sell puja items. The 79.9 crore project is funded by the money obtained from the Chamundi Temple funds.  

Every day, an average of more than 10,000 people visit Sri Chamundeshwari Temple atop the Hill, one of the famous tourist spots in Mysuru. The multi-level pay-and-park facility can easily accommodate more than 1,200 cars. 

Much-delayed project

The total area earmarked for the project is eight acres and the built-up area is 31,000 square meters. Though the foundation for the project was laid in April 2016, the work was delayed due to various hurdles including environmental clearances and the actual work started in November 2016 and was to be completed in March 2017 but delayed further due to various bottlenecks. 

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, PWD Executive Engineer Vinay Kumar and Assistant Executive Engineer Raju said that environmentalists had filed several petitions against the multi-level parking works and all the hurdles have been cleared now. Also, there was a huge presence of rocks in the construction area and this delayed the works. 

From 600 cars to 1,200

“Initially, we had planned the multi-level parking facility to accommodate 600 cars. But we came up with the idea of mechanised car parking so that all the three levels of the building can accommodate four-wheelers. Now a total of 1,200 cars can be parked in this pay-and-park facility,” they said.

The PWD authorities focussed mainly on four-wheeler parking as the majority of the visitors come by four-wheelers and the rest take buses and other modes of transport. 

The road leading from the parking lot to the main road will be widened and once the construction is completed, the existing bus stand will be shifted to new place. The space to house the bus stand has been earmarked next to the parking lot. The parking lot will have shelters and toilets for the visitors, they said. 

116 shopping outlets

A separate building has been constructed to accommodate vendors of flowers, puja material and fruits and all the temple vendors will be shifted there on the lines of Tirupati Temple. There are 116 shopping outlets inside the building for the vendors to set shop. The shopping complex will help decongest the main street. 

“Ninety percent of the works are complete and the only hitch is shifting the vendors as they are reluctant to move into new building foreseeing economic loss. But ultimately they have to be convinced to set shops in the new building. Once the shops are relocated the approach road to the temple will be cleared for the smooth movement of devotees,” the officials said. 

500-metre walkway 

For the convenience of devotees, a 500-metre walkway has been constructed from the parking lot to the temple. This walkway is covered at the top to protect the devotees from sun and rain. As part of the project, the area around the Mahishasura Statue will be beautified along with landscaping. Support railings, rest rooms, shelters and toilets will come up along the steps and the Nandi Statue premises will be made greener.

A Ground Level Service Reservoir has been built to hold five lakh litres of water. Of this, one lakh litres will be used for drinking water purpose and four lakh litres will be used for fire-fighting measures on the entire Chamundi Hill, officials added.