Madikeri:

The Gaddige in the town here (mausoleums of the erstwhile rulers of Kodagu), which had been in the news for all the wrong reasons – vandals setting its main door on fire, encroachments, haven of illicit activities, etc – is finally being spruced up to attract tourists who are already making a beeline to Kodagu district.

The Madikeri Urban Development Authority (MUDA) has prepared a plan to develop four acres of land around the Gaddige into a landscape garden at a cost of Rs. 45 lakh, MUDA Chairman Shejil Krishnan told SOM yesterday. At present, 35 granite benches have been erected around the Gaddige area and a walkway has been created around the proposed garden, said Shejil, adding that after the famous Raja Seat, this will be the second botanical garden in the town. Ornamental plants have been planted, lawns have been laid and a lotus pond has also been created on the vacant land. The variety of ornamental plants have been brought from SNV Nursery in Rajamundry of Hyderabad. Landscaping for the garden is being done by Bangalore-based Green Stays Landscaping Company and the works are being supervised by the company’s Planning Officer M.S. Sudhir.

Plans are on the anvil to include a children’s play park too in the garden, said Shejil.

The land belonging to Gaddige has been fenced off and the main entrance has been renovated. Works are on to mount the stone statues of elephants on to concrete platforms.

Despite all these development works, it is an irony that the Department of Archaeology seems to be oblivious.

The Gaddige are protected monuments that come under the Karnataka Ancient & Historical Monuments & Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1961.

Gaddige has two identical square structures, which are the tombs of the kings and their queens. They are close to each other, built in Indo-sarcenic style. A small tomb by the side of these structures is of their Guru or royal priest Rudrappa. It was built in 1834.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / January 09th, 2012