• What happened to Centre’s Rs. 100 crore PRASHAD Scheme?
• Need to abolish Chamundi Hill Gram Panchayat

Mysore/Mysuru: After the successful online petition to stall cutting of hundreds of trees at the foot of Chamundi Hill for Heli Tourism project, with over 80,000 signatures, forcing the State Government to do a rethink on the project, Mysureans have now embarked on a second major online petition to save the Chamundi Hill from indiscriminate development and ecological destruction.

The iconic Chamundi Hill has seen three major landslides since 2019, especially on the road leading to the Nandi Statue from View Point Junction and this has given a fresh impetus to the residents of Mysuru to rally around to save the Hill from indiscriminate development and the resultant environmental degradation. They have pinned the blame on the Governments for initiating development projects atop the Hill without having any knowledge about its fragile ecosystem. 

The petition has been put up on Change.org by ‘Mysoreans for Saving Mysore’, a group of like-minded people. According to Bhamy V. Shenoy of the group, the petition (https://chng.it/cJbxbHv2) has been put up against indiscriminate development. The petition, launched yesterday, has so far received over 2,750 signatures.

“In the light of a new proposal submitted by the Tourism Department to spend Rs. 100 crore under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme, this petition assumes importance. We learnt that an earlier proposal was rejected by the Central Government. Unfortunately, we do not know what is in the new draft. Our efforts to reach out to the Tourism Department did not succeed,” he said.

Aim of 3 lakh signatures

“We hope to get 3 lakh signatures which should influence our elected leaders to take some of our recommendations that the Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) has been making since four years,” he added.

“Today, the spiritual-religious-heritage sanctity of Chamundi Hill is threatened. Some people and authorities are thinking of constructing some more buildings. Our elected leaders are coming up with grandiose ideas to improve tourism or promote development of the Hill. We should stop all construction, start removing all illegal buildings, stop movement of vehicles and allow only electric buses,” he said.

Bhamy Shenoy has reiterated the demand to constitute a Chamundi Hill Development Authority on the lines of MM Hills Development Authority so that all stakeholders have a say in its future instead of only a section of powerful people taking unilateral decisions.

“If we wish to save Chamundi Hill, we need dramatic steps. We should transfer the Gram Panchayat authority to the District Authority as soon as possible and we should have a Chamundi Hill Development Authority to restore it to its prior state when man lived in harmony with nature. We should make the Hill a spiritual centre rather than a commercial place to attract tourism. Let us recall the words of noted Kannada writer and Saraswathi Samman awardee Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa that ‘Tourism kills Tourism’,” Shenoy said.