Activists say no to Chamundi Hills ropeway project

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Mysore Grahakara Parishat(MGP) founder President Bhamy V. Shenoy has urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to reject a proposal from his party MLAs to implement the ropeway project on Chamundi Hills similar to that for Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapura district.

He told News Trail that ever since the Karnataka government approved the ropeway project to promote tourism on Nandi Hills, a section of Mysureans have started demanding a similar ropeway project for Chamundi Hills too. There are enough political leaders to support such an ‘environmental unfriendly’ project despite its impact.

The forest department is not in favour of the Nandi Hills ropeway project and is likely to oppose the ropeway project in Mysuru too but for how long, he wondered?

Only daring and concerned forest officials will refuse environmental clearance and Mysuru was lucky in having such an official in Vinay Kumar who refused to give permission to fell trees in Peoples’ Park.

In 1994, the then government signed a BOT (build, operate and transfer) contract for constructing a ropeway on Chamundi Hills at an estimated cost of Rs. 6.5 crore. Because of protests led by MGP, the project was shelved. But the times have changed and the government has even constructed a multi-level parking lot on Chamundi Hills. “If we oppose the project now when it is in the conceptual stage, we may stand some chance of saving Chamundi Hills from further environmental vandalism,’’ he remarked.

Some people want the ropeway claiming it will reduce vehicular traffic but this will not happen. There is no scientific basis for arguing that the collapse of roads in Chamundi is because of vehicular traffic. Such caving-in has happened on many hills even in the absence of vehicular traffic and happens because of rainfall and the nature of the hills. Shenoy also asserted that the ropeway will not help promote tourism. Tourists will spend money on a ropeway when the scenery is spectacular and if it is an inaccessible area which is not the case at Chamundi Hills. In fact one can argue that the ropeway will affect biodiversity and the natural beauty of the hills.

The best way to promote tourism is to leave nature to itself without human intervention like constructing a ropeway, he added.