An off-the-cuff remark by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently that he was not averse to ropeway to Chamundi Hills has triggered outrage among environmentalists in Mysuru who are now pitted against the hospitality sector batting for the project. It has also brought to fore the ongoing tug of war between those lobbying to promote Chamundi Hills as a commercial tourist site and environmentalists keen to conserve the ecological integrity and the spiritual sanctity of the place.
Local NGOs like Mysuru Grahakara Parishat, Chamundi Betta Ulisi Samithi - an umbrella organisation of various NGOs opposed to ropeway project - are also questioning whether a project needs to be revived repeatedly despite going against popular public sentiment. The ropeway to Chamundi Hills is being proposed since almost 25 years and it gets dropped following a furore, but only to be revived again after a hiatus mainly due to the demand by the stakeholders from the hospitality sector.
During the silver jubilee celebration of their charitable trust, the Hotel Owners’ Association recently submitted a memorandum to Mr. Siddaramaiah who remarked that he wanted to implement the project but came under attack by environmentalists and hence had dropped it. The Chief Minister went on to say that he was not averse to its implementation provided there was no opposition to the project, but that was enough to trigger a backlash from the activists.
So apart from convincing the political leadership against the project, the environmentalists now plan to meet the representatives of the hospitality sector to explain why such projects were inimical to Chamundi Hills and its ecosystem.
Soil erosion
A geologist who studied the Chamundi Hills at the behest of the environmentalist pointed out that the terrain of Chamundi Hills was suffering from soil erosion as evident in the slew of landslides witnessed in the area in recent years and cautioned against rushing through any development works.
U.N. Ravikumar, environmentalist who has extensively studied the place, has underlined the importance of Chamundi Hills as a watershed and pointed out that the runoffs from the hill feeds many lakes that help in groundwater recharge. Apart from managing the micro climatic conditions Chamundi Hills is also a major lung space for Mysuru and hence its conservation was imperative, according to Mr. Ravikumar.
Even the Forest Department in 2012 had questioned the feasibility of a ropeway to Chamundi Hills whose vertical height did not exceed 300 metres from the ground while the length of the ropeway could not be more than 2 or 3 km.
Unbridled urbanisation
But it is not ropeway project alone that is a matter of concern to environmentalists. The unbridled urbanisation of the hilltop and the absence of a buffer zone at the foothills is also a matter of concern.
While the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) has created residential plots around the foothills, there are fears that projects such as ropeway, helitourism, hill development under Union government’s Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) scheme will turn the verdant hills to a concrete jungle.
