Experts to brainstorm on saving Chamundi Hills on April 3

Mysuru: ParisaraBalaga, an environmental activist group, will bring together environmental activists, ecologists, geologists, planners, civil society members and advocacy groups on 3 April to brainstorm on saving Chamundi Hills.

"The continuing developmental activities planned in the interest of tourism will result in a dangerous influence on the ecology at ChamundiHills and throughout Mysuru," ParisaraBalaga convener Parashurame Gowda warned on Thursday.

The State administration has proposed a ropeway project, while another plan uses federal funding to install railings on the steps, which does not augur well for the hill that has already seen landslips in the last rains. They aren't scientifically lanned and will endanger the hill's safety.

Even the authorities in charge did not take the Forest Department's environmental concerns into account when planning the projects, he noted.

As a result, approximately 100 experts and officials from various organisations have decided to have a round table discussion on April 3 at 10 a.m. in the auditorium of JSS Women's College, Saraswatipuram.

On Google Meet, many environmental specialists from across the State, including Nagesh Hegde and Leo Saldana, will give their perspectives.

Writers S L Bhyrappa, Devanuru Mahadeva, Roopa Hassan, historian Prof N S Rangaraju, and Krupakar will be in attendance and will give a presentation in Mysuru.

Similarly, numerous professionals in geology, earth science, and other fields will gather to debate how to safeguard the Chamundi Hills,according to Parashurame Gowda.

"At this early stage, it is an experimental session; subsequently, we will prepare second-level programmes and also plan to take legal action to prohibit unscientific ventures that detract from our rich heritage and ecology," Gowda said.

"During the signing campaign, we obtained 50,000 signatures," Leela Shivakumar stated.

We will send it to the Prime Minister and Chief Minister, together with a complete report on the round table discussion, as soon as possible."