Ahead of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mysuru to take part in the International Day of Yoga at the palace on June 21, an activist has sought to remind him of his recent concerns over environment and has urged him to save Chamundi Hills where a slew of projects have been proposed.
Bhamy V. Shenoy, founding president of Mysuru Grakahara Parishat (MGP), said it would not be possible to meet the Prime Minister in person and hence he though of writing a letter to the PMO and draw Mr.Modi’s attention to certain issues germane to the city which the latter will visit on June 20 and 21.
Calling upon the Prime Minister to stop the so-called development works atop Chamundi Hills, Mr.Shenoy said it would be in sync with his recent exhortation to adapt “Life Style For Environment” as a mission and which was also proposed at the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
A slew of development works including a ropeway and embellishment under PRASHAD scheme is in the pipleline to which the environmentalists are opposed. The city has witnessed innumerable protests by various groups against the concretisation of Chamundi Hills besides launch of online petitions which has garnered over 70,000 signatures.
The letter to Mr.Modi said that he may not learn anything about the vandalisation of Chamundi Hills during his visit to the city. But it was taking place under the pretext of ‘’development’’ and the authorities were promoting a concept that was antithetical to Life Style for Environment as envisaged by the Prime Minister, according to Mr.Shenoy.
‘’ Besides sending a powerful message on the need for practising yoga, you can use the occasion to promote your Life Style Mission by asking authorities not only to stop the further concretisation of Chamundi immediately, but to restore the earlier charm of the hill’’, said the letter to the Prime Minister.
Mr. Shenoy said that even Saraswathi Samman awardee and renowned litterateur S.L.Bhyrappa had written a letter to him (Prime Minister) calling for conservation of Chamundi Hills.
‘’Through your intervention to “Save Chamundi”, you can send a powerful message on Life Style Mission not only to India, but also to the world on International Yoga Day from Mysuru. Please usher in a new era in fighting climate change by promoting, “simple living, high thinking”, said the letter to Mr.Modi.
