Jog Falls look forward to adventurous zipline very soon

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Imagine a fancy ziplining over the Jog Falls? Very soon, a zipline will be thrown open for the lovers of adventure at Jog Falls in the Western Ghats. This zipline would be at 450 meters height and will be the longest in Karnataka, and the second longest zipline in India.

This project is will be managed by the Jog Management Authority as part of the Jog Falls Comprehensive Management Plan. JMA members have recently explained that this zipline will be India’s second longest after Rishikesh. As Karnataka has several private and police or defense training ziplines, they are usually 100-250 metres in length.

Shivamogga DC and JMA head, K. B. Sivakumar have explained that this zipline would be the first of such height and is part of the action plan that is expected to develop Jog Falls by expending Rs. 130 crore. The zipline project has kick-started by creating the boarding platform and stringing ropes across the cliffs.

The entry gate of the Yatrinivas would be the starting point of this zipline and will end at the pathway by the Jog Falls. It would be open to the public after the monsoon gets over.

“We are using only the area in the Jog Falls for the activity. No trees are being cut and there will be no environmental damage.”

“However, developmental work around Jog Falls is also being taken up, like creating a parking facility from where tourists will be brought in battery-operated vehicles. The adventurists, after ziplining to the other end, will have the option of either walking back to the entry point or use battery-operated vehicles,” he said. Nonetheless, environmentalists and forest officials are not quite persuaded whatsoever.

“Though the management is with the district administration and tourism department, the area falls under a forest patch. Earlier, the JMA had lit up the falls at night, but it stopped after they understood the environmental impact. This project should be assessed again, before taking up any such activities as they are creating a permanent structure,” a forest official said.

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