Heritage experts lay stress on preserving natural beauty while developing Anegundi

The hill of Anjanadri in Kishkinda has rapidly become a popular pilgrimage, with a footfall of 30,000 or more on Saturdays and Tuesdays and 20,000 on other days.
Devotees throng Anjanadri Hills in Anegundi of Koppal. (Photo | Prakash Kandakoor)
Devotees throng Anjanadri Hills in Anegundi of Koppal. (Photo | Prakash Kandakoor)

HUBBALLI: The influx of large funds for the development of the famous Anjanadri Hills in Koppal district, the birthplace of Lord Hanuman, may completely change the natural beauty of the area. The multiple plans that are being made to develop the fast-growing religious centre may dent the beauty of areas such as boulder-studded hillocks, lakes, and agricultural habitats.

Starting from the widening of roads, creating large parking facilities and buildings for pilgrimage needs to be done in tandem with the local environment that remained the same from mythological times.

The hill of Anjanadri in Kishkinda has rapidly become a popular pilgrimage, with a footfall of 30,000 or more on Saturdays and Tuesdays and 20,000 on other days.

The government has now taken a lead and sanctioned Rs 100 crore for the overall development of the region. But heritage experts caution that before taking up large-scale infrastructure works to accommodate such a large number of pilgrims, they should consider doing it without erasing the original beauty of Kishkinda.

This region is a backdrop to an important chapter of the Ramayana known as the Kishkinda Kand. Kishkinda stands at a precipice of change looking at the future as a popular tourism and pilgrimage destination. "It is imperative to have a team that has a professional yet sensitive and holistic approach towards planning and development," points out Shama Pawar, Convener, INTACH, Anegundi-Hampi.

"The urgency to spend funds without sensitive planning and execution will yield results that are not beneficial for the destination or the local community. There is a need to prevent the loss of an outstanding spiritual and visual experience that Kishkinda offers. It is our responsibility to leave this sacred and natural landscape for the next generations to come," Shama said.

"It is of utmost importance to find solutions for mobility and crowd management to make the visitor experience be as though they walk in the footsteps of Lord Ram himself. It is important to revive the garden-like forests of Kishkinda to once again be a living entity and a sacred landscape. An entity that has a unique culture shaped by spirituality, history and nature," she said.

As we spend funds on the physical infrastructure, it is most important to set systems towards maintenance, operation and management through skilling of the local communities and empowering them. These measures will create stable employment and avoid degradation of the site," she added.

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