The ghost of ropeway or cable car project for Chamundi Hill has been resurrected again after a long hiatus which is set to trigger a fresh tug of war between proponents and opponents of the project.
This is the latest in a series of projects that have been initiated atop the Chamundi Hill which is fast turning into an urban jungle with a slew of concrete structures including a multi-storeyed vehicle parking lot, road expansion works, and commercial kiosks that have already come up.
It was the Minister for Tourism C.P.Yogeshwar who set the cat among the pigeons by announcing in the city last week that the ropeway or the cable car project was very much on the anvil and it would be taken up with private entities with experience in installing such projects in north India.
That Mr.Yogeshwar - who is also the Minister for Environment - was strongly in favour of the project stems from his statements before the media that the “project will not impact the environment.” “A few poles will be installed and a cable will be drawn to support the carriages and there will be no sound pollution nor will it emit smoke’’, the Minister had stated during his interaction with mediapersons, underscoring his preconceived notions that the project will have no environmental impact on Chamundi Hill.
The Minister was apparently influenced by the stakeholders in the tourism sector who have time and again aired the demand before successive governments to keep the issue alive.
Prior to Mr.Yogeshwar, the then district in-charge Minister V. Somanna had promised ‘development’’ at Chamundi Hill and apart from raking up the ropeway project, had sought a new community feeding hall or Dasoha Bhavan apart from construction of new kiosks. The former Tourism Minister C.T.Ravi had proposed a zipline though the Forest Department denied permission for it.
Another scheme mooted by the earlier governments was to ‘develop’ Chamundi Hill on the lines of Tirupati and create accommodation facilities. The proponents conveniently ignored the fact that Chamundi Hill was only 5 km from the city centre.
Environmentalists, social activists and NGOs in Mysuru have time and again pointed to the ecological fragility of Chamundi Hill and the misplaced priorities of the government. They have warned that such infrastructure projects will backfire on the tourism sector as the pristine beauty of Chamundi Hill will be destroyed.
A signature campaign was launched against the project by the Mysore Grahakara Parishat and Society for Empowerment of Voluntary Association almost 6 years ago and it elicited a strong response against the project.
Chamundi Hill is a treasure-trove of biodiversity with over 150 birds documented in the reserve forests apart from 400 plant species. Environmentalists have pointed out that conservation of Chamundi Hill should receive priority as it regulates micro-climatic conditions and serves as a catchment area for the region. Hence there have been campaigns for creation of a buffer zone around Chamundi Hill but such plea have been ignored in the past.
