NANDI HILL STATION, HOW IT IS NOW AND HOW IT SHOULD BE.

NANDI HILL STATION, HOW IT IS NOW AND HOW IT SHOULD BE.

Nandi Hills is one of the best Hill Stations of India and perhaps one of two Hill Stations of Karnataka. Long Back Britishers laid Roads and built some Bungalows when they were here. But for them, It would have remained another hill like any other without any devlopment. Nandi has attracted the likes of Mahathma Gandhi who stayed here to convulse when he was very ill. Pundit Nehru, Cubbon, Queen Elezebeth, Rajiv Gandhi, Radhakrishnan Etc., Queen Elizebeth stayed here when she last visited Karnataka, India. The Road is among the finest. Climate fine throughout the year.

Coming to the facilities here, it is vow fully inadequate, under developed, Water Scarcity continues to haunt. After Sunset moving out of your Bungalow is hazardous and risky. Added to this a few suicides and murders have taken place. The Buildings are not located in a row and side by side. There is darkness in between. Lodges, Restaurants, Temple are separated by distances and darkness at night. To go to Restaurants during nights is fraught with danger. There is no proper lighting and street lighting is almost absent. There will be very few Occupants during night and hardly you can see any peoples movement at night. There is scope for a few more buildings to be put up. I understand that there is a strange rule that no more Buildings should come up in Nandi Hill Station. It is nothing but putting a halt to development. Needless to say with such stupid interpretation of the laws and rules, Development is the causality. It is because of 'Dog in the Manger' Policy of the Government. They are neither developing nor allowing Private Sector to develop. It should be developed on the lines of Ooty or Kodai canal with a few more shops, Hotels, Lodges and so on. Entry into Hills stops at seven in the evening now, Of course, with the present infrastructure, no body can enter after dark. Public Vehicles are stopped one Kilo meter away from main Area. Next you enter an area called Cuppage Gardens. It is like a wild forest with no proper Roads or lighting. You can be murdered there at 8.00 pm without being noticed by any body. You cannot think of halting at this Hill Station without prior Reservation in the Bungalows which are very few. One of the Lodges, Gandhi Nilaya had a few suites and it was open to Public. Some years ago Government stopped giving it to Public and they have Reserved it for Government purposes only. It is hardly being made use by So called Government People and it will be always unoccupied and locked with no work to the staff there. Waste of precious space and resources. With this even the few Bungalows which were available to public are denied access. It is understood the Government is planning to demolish it and build new one in its place. The building has been renovated recently and it is in good condition. It can be retained and New one built at some other site. There are very few lodges, Bungalows, all controlled by Government except perhaps one. Till very recently it was haven for drunkards and rowdy elements, which would frequent it on Sundays, Holidays and other occasions like New year Eve, literally covered every area and walking path with Broken Bottles. Now, of course it has been stopped by Authorities for good. There is a small Police Control Room /Out Post, with no adequate staff or amenities. Food will be available, if only you have ordered it much earlier. As regards Transport, God only should save. A few Busses ply from Bangalore and other places, if you miss the last Bus, you had it. There appears to be a proposal to start Electric Car service between Bus Station and Main hill area. It is a good idea. Otherwise people who come by Bus, if they are old and infirm, they will not be able to climb the distance. The biggest problem is water scarcity, and it is continuing for past many decades. I feel with proper Rain Harvesting methods the required quantum of water can be pooled in the hills itself. Otherwise there is tank Called Kandavara Tank about 3 k.m’s from Hills. Water can be drawn from that if no alternatives are found. There were News Paper Reports that Government is spending over Rs.16.50 crore for improving facilities. It is a good move but that alone is not sufficient unless properly planned and monitored.

Our leaders visit many Hill stations in India and abroad. But they do not learn any thing. They never think in terms of improving this Hill Station like other Hill Stations they visit. Added advantage, to this Hill Station is, it is Just sixty kilo meters away from Bangalore and is easily approachable from many other towns. There is no need for a tedious and tiresome Journey to reach this destination. You have the best of Air and Climate and it still maintains its serenity. There is a range of four or five hills abetting Nandi Hills, they can also be developed with Public/Private Participation. Develop infrastructure and sell it to private for development. That will save Government from investing and on the other hand they can make some money. These areas are best suited for Holiday Homes, & rest houses for Big Business houses, Banks and the like and they will be eager to snatch the Opportunity if only offered. Only thing is that the Government should open up to Public. The Government can earn Revenue also, if the leaders mind they can make some money for themselves for that at least, they must expedite matters! Things will automatically change. Government, says it wants to encourage Tourism but in reality Government is the biggest stumbling block. They are capable of citing rules and legal hurdles and constraints, forgetting they are there to solve them. Until some capable leader who can solve these irritants comes, we have to grin and bear it. Things are like that in this Country wherever you go. There other Hills like Savangadurga, Shivaganga, Madhugiri Hills, Siddara Betta etc., which can be developed as tourist Resorts. Nothing moves unfortunately. This makes us sad and our expatriates make fun of us. CSP RAO Dated 12th August, 2011.