Chamundi Hills, Mysore Palace set to be devp
Mysore,
Apr
15:
Buoyed
by
the
boom
in
tourism
and
growing
popularity
of
Chamundi
Hills
and
the
famous
Mysore
palace,
the
Karnataka
Government
has
taken
up
long
term
measures
to
promote
tourism
to
cope
with
the
projected
influx
of
tourists
in
the
coming
years.
A
detailed
project
report
(DPR)
for
the
development
of
Chamundi
Hills
was
ready
and
would
be
submitted
to
the
Centre
for
approval.
A
similar
exercise
was
in
progress
for
the
Mysore
palace
too.
Both
the
projects
would
be
taken
up
under
the
Jawaharlal
Nehru
National
Urban
Renewal
Mission
(JNNURM),
a
Centrally-sponsored
project
in
63
cities
across
the
country.
Tourism
department
sources
told
UNI
that
the
recent
decision
by
the
authorities
to
prepare
a
master
plan
to
develop
Chamundeswari
temple
could
not
come
at
a
more
opportune
moment.
The
Archaeological
Survey
of
India
and
the
State
Department
of
Archaeology
and
Museums
would
conceive
a
master
plan
to
improve
the
surroundings,
the
temple
precincts
and
might
take
up
landscaping.
The
pilgrims'
progress
to
Chamundeswari
temple
atop
Chamundi
Hills
continued
unabated,
with
the
religious
place
attracting
about
70
lakh
pilgrims
during
2005
and
over
ten
million
in
2006.
It
was
increasingly
being
recognised
as
one
of
the
seven
sacred
hills
in
South
India,
as
the
signage
proclaimed
at
one
of
the
hairpin
bends.
Historically,
the
earliest
inscription
of
Mysore
dating
back
to
950
AD
was
found
in
Chamundi
Hills
and
scholars
aver
that
the
Mahabala
temple
next
to
Chamundi
Hills
was
constructed
during
the
reign
of
the
Gangas.
Situated
at
a
height
of
1,074
metres
above
mean
sea
level,
the
Chamundeswari
temple's
importance
had
grown
ever
since
the
Wadiyars
of
Mysore
began
to
patronise
it.
Karnataka
Tourism
Commissioner
G
Kumar
Naik,
who
held
a
review
meeting
on
Chamundi
Hills
development
here
recently,
said
various
agencies
and
stakeholders,
including
the
Mysore
Urban
Development
Authority
(MUDA),
Tourism
department,
KSRTC
and
Mysore
City
Corporation
held
different
visions
and
perceptions.
Project
consultants
of
various
organisations
have
been
asked
to
work
together
and
the
estimated
cost
of
the
Chamundi
hills
and
Palace
project
was
around
Rs
75
crore.
Mr
Naik
said
decongestion
atop
the
hill
would
be
given
priority
in
view
of
the
quantum
leap
in
the
number
of
pilgrims
and
tourists
visiting
the
temple.
The
thrust
would
be
on
scentific
management
of
traffic
with
better
facilities
and
the
approach
road
to
the
temple
and
its
precincts
would
be
declared
a
'pedestrian
zone'.
Hawkers
would
be
rehabilitated
as
part
of
the
decongestion
drive.
Aesthetic
illumination
of
the
temple
and
the
hill
and
better
toilet
facilities
were
the
other
aspects
that
the
project
would
cover.
The
temple
authorities
had
been
asked
to
install
a
system
in
which
there
could
be
an
automatic
count
of
visitors
to
the
temple
every
day.
The
tourist
inflow
to
Mysore
palace
had
also
increased
in
recent
years,
with
the
number
crossing
2.5
million
last
year
and
expected
to
grow
to
five
million
in
the
next
few
years.
The
tourism
department
had
been
preparing
few
additions
to
the
attractions
in
the
palace
like
introduction
of
a
sound
and
light
programme
inside
the
palace
premises
and
the
same
was
expected
to
commence
soon.
There
was
a
debate
on
conservation
of
open
spaces
and
greenery
around
Chamundi
Hills,
a
repository
of
flora
and
fauna
which
needed
to
be
protected,
according
to
environmentalists
of
the
city.
They
have
called
for
a
buffer
zone
of
500
metres
to
prevent
further
degradation
of
the
habitat.
They
suggested
that
300
metres
of
the
area
around
the
hills
should
be
acquired
by
the
Government
and
declared
as
a
'core
conservation
area'
and
the
remaining
200
metres
be
declared
a
transitional
zone
with
stringent
restrictions
on
land
use
pattern.
On
whether
tourism
promotion
in
Chamundi
Hills
could
ignore
the
larger
issue
of
conservation
as
the
identity
of
the
temple
was
closely
associated
with
the
hill
and
its
ecosystem,
Mr
Naik
said
the
forest
department
too
would
be
involved
in
conservation
efforts.
The
MUDA
had
notified
over
680
acres
of
land
at
the
foot
of
Chamundi
hills
which
would
be
maintained
as
open
space,
Deputy
Commissioner
S
Selvakumar
said.
UNI