Austrian experts study feasibility of Kodai-Palani rope car project

MADURAI: An expert team from Austria visited Kodaikanal on Tuesday to study the feasibility of a rope-car project to connect Kodaikanal with Palani, a pilgrimage town in the district. The team inspected locations, including Puliyur and on way to Vilpatti and Kurinji Andavar Temple at the hill station and studied elevation range with the aid of Google maps and GPS. A detailed project report would be readied for the project expected to take off at an estimated cost of Rs 450 crore. The report would be submitted to the Centre within a period of six months and works would be completed in a span of eighteen months, sources said. The first phase of the project would take off from Thekkan Thottam, near Adivaram, to Anju Veedu waterfalls in Kodaikanal and the next phase would go on from Anjuveedu to Kurinji Andavar Temple. The local populaces of Kodaikanal have long been demanding an alternative route to Kodaikanal-Silver Falls Road, which’s the only way from Batlagundu to access Kodaikanal.