By P.T. Bopanna
In a diabolical move, the Karnataka horticulture department authorities sitting in Bengaluru have decided to build a glass bridge at Raja Seat in Madikeri, Kodagu (Coorg) district, without consulting the stakeholders in Kodagu.
The horticulture department which is supposed to develop gardens, has conspired to build the glass bridge in an area affected by landsides in 2018. This is yet another project estimated to cost Rs 15 crore which is dumped upon the district to benefit vested interests.
What is worrying is that the project has been opposed by Kodagu Lok Sabha member Yaduveer, Kodagu DC, and former minister M.C. Nanaiah who is a resident of Madikeri.
The Raja Seat (in picture) offers a breath-taking view of towering hills, green valleys, studded with paddy fields. It is fascinating to watch the road to Mangaluru like a curved ribbon lying in the valley.
I had warned in the past against giving permission for glass bridges in landslide-prone Kodagu district, without proper safety audit, as it could endanger lives of tourists.
However, a few years ago, permission was given for a glass bride near Madikeri. The glass bridge turned a danger zone following a landslide underneath the bridge.
Though landslide occurred 100 metres away from Raja Seat in 2018, during the tenure of Annies Joy as DC a few years ago, she built ‘Coorg Village’, a shopping complex near Raja Seat and deployed excavator at Raja Seat to put up concrete structures.
We have to learn lessons from collapse of the pedestrian suspension bridge over the Machchhu River in the city of Morbi in Gujarat few years ago, causing the deaths of at least 135 people and injuries to more than 180 others.