Heli-tourism: ‘Will not back any project lacking people’s support, says Minister Somashekar
- R.Krishna Kumar
MYSURU:
District-in-charge Minister S.T. Somashekar on Wednesday said that he will not pursue or give his consent for any project that does not have the support or the concurrence of the people of Mysuru.
He was reacting to the proposed heli-tourism project which has ignited a major controversy as it entails felling of over 150 trees to pave way for the helipad opposite the Lalitha Mahal Palace hotel. NGOs have already launched an online petition which has garnered over 70,000 signatures while Mysuru MP Pratap Simha, who belongs to the ruling BJP, dubbed it as a publicity stunt devoid of a vision or revenue model.
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Over 35,000 people sign within 24 hours to save trees
Mysore/Mysuru: An online campaign has been launched against axing of hundreds of trees for the proposed
Heli Tourism near Lalitha Mahal Palace that is a butterfly zone.
A petition posted on www.change.org, has garnered the support of over 35,279 people from all over the world. It is not known how many of them are Mysureans.
The Heli Tourism project is the brainchild of Tourism Minister C.P. Yogeeshwar who has already held a couple of meetings and also inspected the proposed spot twice.
Green activist M.K. Saptha Girish, who initiated this petition against felling of trees, says that Mysuru needs environmentally sustainable tourism and not an environmentally destructive helipad near Lalitha Mahal Palace.
Forest Department approval needed to cut vegetation near Lalitha Mahal Palace
Mysore/Mysuru: A survey to identify the most suitable spot for the location of a
Helicopter Terminal (Heli Terminal) in Lalitha Mahal Palace Grounds began this morning to pave way for Tourism Minister C.P. Yogeeshwar’s dream project of launching Heli Tourism with adequate space for helicopter docks.
The survey comes at a time when concerns are raised about cutting of trees in the area to house the Heliport facility. Tourism Department holds 40 acres of land in the locality and the vegetation has to be cleared to facilitate Heli Tourism and as such, permission has to be sought from the Forest Department.