Mysuru
Mysuru-Kodagu MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar has extended his support to the campaign against the proposed Kambala event during the Mysuru Dasara festivities.
A delegation of the Joint Struggle Committee Against Kambala, comprising representatives of various organisations, met Yaduveer at his office on Saturday and submitted a memorandum. Receiving the memorandum, the MP said he had already conveyed his opposition to the State Government over holding Kambala as part of the Dasara celebrations.
Speaking on the occasion, Parisarakkaagi Naavu organisation general secretary Parashuramegowda said the committee was opposing Kambala for three major reasons. First, holding Kambala during Dasara would undermine the grandeur, reputation and uniqueness of the world-famous Mysuru Dasara. The annual Dasara programmes are themselves not being conducted in a systematic and well-organised manner. Adding Kambala would further aggravate traffic congestion, air and noise pollution and the problem of garbage disposal. Second, the venue identified for Kambala has hundreds of trees, a lake and an ecosystem supporting various small animals, birds, insects and other forms of life. Trees are being felled, the lake is being filled up and the ecosystem is being destroyed to facilitate the event, he alleged. The land had originally been earmarked for development as a park. Third, Karnataka is facing a severe water crisis and drought-like conditions.
Parashuramegowda said the government’s priority should be to respond to the suffering of people in distress. Spending money unnecessarily on Kambala at such a difficult time would be an insensitive step. The government should conduct a modest Dasara this year.
Meanwhile, Mr. Yaduveer assured the delegation that he would convene a meeting involving the concerned officials, environmental experts and environmental activists to discuss the proposed flyover near Manipal Hospital Junction and the underpass planned near Kukkarahalli Lake.
The delegation comprised U.N. Ravikumar, Kalachannagowda, N.S. Rangaraju, Ravi Bale, Hoskote Basavaraju, M.G. Sadanandayya, M.R. Janardhan, Banu Prashanth, Vishwanath, Mansoor Ahmed, P. Marankaiah, Suresh, Shivashankar, Aishwarya and others.
