MYSURU: With Kodagu district administration asking resorts, hotels and homestays to shut till September 18, resorts around Mysuru and Chamarajanagar are making a killing. As the inquiries have increased, the prices quoted by the resorts and cottages have shot up manifold. Over 7,000 people visit Kodagu during weekends. Most of these tourists are now looking to these districts. Cottages run by the Karnataka Tourism Development Corporation, Forest Department in Srirangapatna, Bandipur, K Gudi, HD Kote, Madyaranga near Barachukki and other places are also getting many enquiries.
As the prices have shot up to Rs 4,500 per person in resorts on the banks of the Cauvery near Talakadu and Rs 16,000 per night in Kabini backwaters, the tourists are heading towards Ooty. The closure of resorts in Wayanad after heavy rains triggering floods and landslides has also made the techies and weekend travellers explore places like BR Hills in Yalandur taluk and budget hotels in Gundlupet and Chamarajanagar areas.
Hassan: The Public Works Department is likely to allow light motor vehicles and KSRTC multi-axle Volvo buses on the Shiradi Ghat stretch between Bengaluru and Dakshina Kannada in 10 days (mostly from September 11). The Shiradi Ghat stretch on Bengaluru-Mangaluru NH-75 was closed for all types of vehicles due to landslides recently. PWD Minister H D Revanna said he will give permission for only light motor vehicles after obtaining fitness certificate from engineers who have been supervising the road work on the stretch. The work on strengthening side protection walls using sand bags is almost completed, NHAI sources said.
App to estimate crop loss in Kodagu
Bengaluru: The state government’s e-governance department has developed a mobile application to assess crop loss due to natural calamities like flood, drought and pest attacks. To begin with, officials will use the app to assess the losses faced by estate owners and farmers in Kodagu due to the recent floods so that compensation can be disbursed accordingly. “We are using it in Kodagu where crops have been damaged in rains. We are going to start using the app in a day or two,’’ Ramesh Ippikoppa, technical assistant, Kodagu Horticulture Department.