DINDIGUL: WHAT does beauty want? To be seen, appreciated and admired. Well, when it comes to the 'Princess of Hill Stations', aka Kodaikanal, that 'want' part is nicely taken care of by the tourists. But what does beauty need to stay beautiful? To be maintained, period. Good news! the 'need' part is going to be taken care of, courtesy the Kodaikanal Municipality's 106-crore proposal to facelift Kodaikanal.
The municipality has recently sent a proposal to the State government in this regard and the suggestions contain a bunch of measures the Princess Hill deserves. Going by what the Municipality officials told TNIE, the proposal aims to revamp Kodaikanal Lake, Boat House, a 4.5-km road that runs around the lake, 14 culverts that dot the town, Children Park, the walkway garden that circumnavigates the lake and the fountain in municipality office complex. Wait, there's more. The officials also envisage to built two watch towers near the lake for the tourists to get a panoramic view of the evergreen town. To keep the lake clean, the municipality wants to procure a dredging machine so that Palani, a town that relies on Kodaikanal Lake, would get potable water.
The proposal also pitches for the procurement of 15 boats, including pedalling and rowing ones. It may be noted that the Boat House has 36 boats now. Sources from the municipality told TNIE that renovation of the road around Kodaikanal Lake would put an end to rainwater stagnation in the area. They said the walkway garden would get different varieties of flowering plants. They vowed to carry out the renovation works on war-footing once the government shows green signal to the proposal.
The Plan:
* A dredger will be procured to keep the Kodaikanal Lake clean
* Boat House and Children Park to get a fresh lick of paint
* The 4.5-km road runs around the lake will be relaid
* 14 culverts that dot the town to be renovated
* Fountain in the municipality complex to be revamped
* Walkway garden around Kodaikanal Lake to get a range of flowering plants
* 15 boats to be procured