The proposed food zone and construction of 196 shops at Chamundi Hills has drawn flak from citizens who have dubbed the project as an example of concretising a forest ecosystem.
There is also a renewed demand to constitute a Chamundi Hills Authority for the management and conservation of the ecosystem and divest it from the local panchayat whose members were perceived to be reckless in approving projects to the detriment of the local environment.
The fresh round of opposition follows the ground-breaking ceremony for a project in which 196 stalls have been proposed in addition to the existing 116 stalls that are already constructed.
The new work envisages constructing 25 stalls measuring 10 ftx 10 ft and will be clubbed together and designated as ‘’food zone’’. Similarly 34 stalls measuring 5ft x 6ft will be constructed for vendors dealing with puja items like flowers and coconuts while 137 stalls of 8 ft x 8 ft dimensions will be general stalls.
A section of citizens wondered why a food court was essential at Chamundi Hills as the objective of tourists and devotees was to visit Sri Chamundeshwari temple.
Meanwhile, Bhamy V. Shenoy, founding president of Mysore Grahakara Parishat, has urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to intervene to stop the environmental destruction of Chamundi Hills.
He said in a letter to the Chief Minister that one should draw lessons from the development of Kashi where houses and shops surrounding the Kashi Vishwanath temple were relocated. There was a need to adopt a similar approach and relocate the houses atop the Chamundi Hills to save the ecosystem, said Mr. Shenoy.
Calling for relocation of houses and removing the shops from Chamundi Hills, Mr. Shenoy said incentives should be announced to house owners to relocate to Mysuru.
Expressing concern over the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) scheme which envisages spending crores of rupees, Mr. Shenoy said it is unfortunate that political leaders cutting across party lines are promoting the concretisation of Chamundi Hills.
‘’The Wadiyars of Mysuru, Saraswathi Samman awardee, S.L Bhyrappa, and thousands of people of Mysuru have opposed the so-called development to promote tourism’’, said Mr. Shenoy.
The fact that entire Chamundi Hills have been gazetted as reserve forest since 1929 seems to have lost on the Forest Department, Muzrai Department or district authorities as they approve the projects on the ground that temple surroundings are not part of the reserve forest, said Mr. Shenoy in his letter to the Chief Minister.
