Karnataka: Rock climber Jyothiraj scales Gadaikallu

Rock climber Jyothiraj, often called Kothi Raj for his amazing prowess of climbing rock faces, fort walls or tall buildings, scaled the historic Jamalabada Fort (Gadaikallu) or Narasihmagada in Belthangady taluk on Sunday morning.

Gadayikallu is situated 1700 feet above the sea level. He climbed 1500 feet without any gear from the northern side of Chandkoor Sri Durgaparameshwari Temple situated behind Gadaikallu after offering prayers at the temple at 9.45 am and scaled 1500 feet by 12 noon. He held the Kannada flag atop the fort. As a precautionary measure, ropes were kept ready by the authorities.

In fact, a team of eight members led by Jyothiraj had been making preparations for climbing for the last two days.

Jyothiraj has climbed Jog Falls, Chitradurga Fort and other tall buildings in the past.

Jyothiraj told DH that he is working on setting up a foundation to train youth so that they get national and international recognition."I want to visit each and every district in the state to raise funds and create awareness. I want to train youth in rock climbing by creating a foundation and purchase a land for the foundation. Through the foundation, I want to create an artificial wall climbing facility to train the youth. I have been asking the government to sanction a piece of land to train the youth," he said.

After seeking permission from Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja and Dharmasthala Dharmadikari D Veerendra Heggade, he decided to climb the Gadaikallu. “This is my first climb for my dream project. I am following all the rules and will climb only after getting permission. The forest department at Belthangady has been very supportive,” he said.

The climbing of Gadaikallu was challenging. The texture of the hill kept changing at every stretch. However, it was not as tough as Jog falls. He said that he will be in Mangaluru for the next two days.

As he started climbing, people cheered him while standing in Chandkoor temple premises. Only Jyotiraj was given permission to reach the foothill of the Gadaikallu. As a result, people had to watch his prowess from afar.