: Jinxed work on Kodava Heritage Centre: Looking at Parsis, Kodavas may introspect #IndiaNEWS #News Madikeri: Rathi Vinay Jha, former Secretary, Union Ministry of Tourism, in an article in the Coffeeland

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Jinxed work on Kodava Heritage Centre: Looking at Parsis, Kodavas may introspect #IndiaNEWS #News
Madikeri: Rathi Vinay Jha, former Secretary, Union Ministry of Tourism, in an article in the Coffeeland News Weekly, published from Madikeri, Kodagu, in its 26th November 2021 issue, has regretted the inordinate delay in completing the Kodava Heritage Centre civil work and wondered why Kodavas did not resonate to this work like the Parsis did. Here is an extract of the article in this context:



“Around 2003, I envisioned the need to initiate a project to set up a Kodava Heritage Centre. It was a time when Kodagu was slowly opening up to tourism. I felt that setting up a Heritage Centre would be ideal to showcase stories about our people, our history, customs and traditions. It would also be a research and documentation centre where our diaspora and our children could reach out to for information on the homeland.



That is how the story began. In 2004, the Ministry of Tourism granted the Tourism Department of the Government of Karnataka, Rs. 5 crore to develop a number of sites in Kodagu like Raja Seat, Gaddige, Iruppu Falls, Abbi Falls, Nalknad Palace etc. And the project for a Heritage Centre on a  budget of Rs. one crore was part of these plans for tourism development. In fact, a similar grant was made for the Parsis to set up a Heritage Centre in Udwada, Gujarat, where the early families had settled. They had put up a Centre without much ado in a few years. In Kodagu, however, even when building plans and the funds were in hands by 2004, the District Administration took a good six years to locate a suitable plot for the Centre.



It was important that the Centre be located where maximum footfalls could be ensured. Madikeri was therefore the best location. Work started at the site for the Centre near the Golf Course, Mercara Downs and was expected to be completed by 2012-13.



Thereafter, bureaucratic apathy and the negligence of contractors have resulted in the project being in a limbo even after ten years.



Rathi Vinay Jha



The last two lady Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in Kodagu did take a lot of interest in the project. I also understand that our elected representatives from Kodagu have evinced keen interest to see the project through. The President of the Kodava Samaja in Madikeri has also visited the site. So, with all this recent interest and promise I hope we can expect the Kodava Heritage Centre to be completed soon.



There is a lot to be done and institutions like the Kodava Samaja and other youth organisations based in Kodagu could take the lead. It is a project that will need to be steered on a public-private partnership mode with our elected representatives in the lead.



While there is hope there are also other challenges to be met.

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