JOIN US'Daiva vana' project a total mockery here
The effort taken to give a total green cover to Karivaradarajana betta, situated very near to Chamarajanagar district has turned out to be a failure.
Work was launched last year to develop ‘daiva vana’ on the spot which was a total mockery of the project as apart from planting a few saplings no step was taken to take the scheme forward.
The hill comes under Chamarajanagar wildlife division and is located 480 feet above the sea level. The temple of Karivaradarajaswamy is believed to have been constructed during 1688 AD and has 400 steps. It s also said that the kuchcha road and the steps had been constructed during the tenure of erstwhile Mysore king Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, when he visited the hill shrine.
The number of devotees visiting the temple is on the rise now with the ongoing Shravana masa, which is said to be an auspicious month to visit the shrine.
The devotees are finding it hard to climb the rough steps and the kuchcha road is giving difficult time for the vehicle riders. But lack of basic amenities is the biggest problem.
Zilla panchayat had sanctioned funds for providing drinking water facilities on the hill several years ago. A borewell too was sunk at the foothill to quench the thirst. But the pipeline has been laid only up to Anjaneyaswamy temple situated in the centre of the hill and there is no water for the tourists atop the hill. It is said the expense to complete the pipeline will cost about Rs six lakh, but neither ZP nor the CMC has taken steps regarding the issue.
Substandard works
Meanwhile, department of tourism had given a nod for launching development works at a cost of Rs 30 lakh. An action plan was prepared to build two watch towers, cement flooring around the temple and open wells on the spot.
Currently watch towers have been constructed and wild growth of weeds are found grown around the wells and the authorities concerned has not taken any steps to clear the accumulated garbage.
A small guest house was constructed with the donation, but there are no windows, doors and flooring. Now, it is being renovated at a cost of Rs 4.10 lakh, say the boards installed there. Muralikrishna, one of the devotees alleged irregularities and opined that a new guest house could have been constructed with the amount. The flooring is substandard and has even been brought to the notice of district-in-charge minister, he added.
The Daiva vana project has turned out to be damp squib and efforts should be taken to sow seeds at least during rainy season and develop green cover. A probe into misappropriation of funds should be done, stress the people.