Date:30/10/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/10/30/stories/2006103011170300.htm

Karnataka - Shimoga

Approval given for first phase of plan to develop Jog Falls

Special Correspondent

Officials asked to prepare a blueprint for the Rs. 5-crore project

TAKING STOCK: Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa (second from left) reviewing the progress of the development of Jog Falls at a meeting in Shimoga on Sunday. Minister for Higher Education D.H. Shankaramurthy (left) and Minister for Tourism Sriram ulu (third from left) are seen.

SHIMOGA: A meeting convened here on Sunday to review the progress of the Jog Management Authority for the development of Jog Falls and its surroundings in the district gave its approval for the implementation of the first phase of the plan at an estimated cost of Rs. 5 crore.

Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who presided over the meeting, asked the officials concerned to prepare a blueprint for the development of the falls and its surroundings which should be completed in two years.

He suggested that a package on the tourism potential in Shimoga district be prepared in a systematic manner.

Work on the proposed plan for the development of the falls should begin in a month with a tight time frame to enhance the tourism potential of the district, he added.

He said tenders for the implementation of the first phase of the work at a cost of Rs. 5 crore involving the development of the garden near the Linganamakki Reservoir, the main feeder of the Sharavathy Hydel Project, on the lines of the Brindavan Gardens at Krishna Raj Sagar (KRS) should be called for after making changes in the original plan.

The park was proposed to be developed on a sixty-acre area, he added.

He suggested that a plan and estimate at Rs. 5 crore be prepared for the second phase of the development which envisaged the improvement of infrastructure including better accommodation facilities for visitors, lighting facilities and the beautification of the location.

Mr. Yediyurappa suggested that a park be developed as a theme park similar to the one near the Alamatti dam in Bagalkot district. He said funds allocated to the Jog Management Authority by the Centre and the State Government had not been utilised properly.

However, the Government would not be found wanting in extending the financial assistance for the development of Jog.

Mr. Yediyurappa said the Jog Management Authority could improve its own resources and suggested that the fees collected from film producers for permission to shoot at the falls be increased.

Mr. Anilkumar said the international park to be developed at the Linganamakki dam at a cost of Rs. 5.04 crore had been accorded administrative approval.

When Mr. Yediyurappa sought details about the development of other tourist spots in the district, Commissioner for Tourism Ram Naik said the Karnataka Road Development Corporation had taken up construction of a pucca road for Kodachadri at a cost of Rs. 45 lakh a km.

Minister for Higher Education D.H. Shankaramurthy, MLA from Hosnagar Hartalu Halappa, MLA from Sagar Beluru Gopalakrishna, special officer to the Deputy Chief Minister Siddaiah and officials were present.