Plan to link Karnaji Lake with Regional Museum of Natural History

Mysuru: The area around Mysuru Zoo, one of the most popular tourist hotspots in the Heritage City, has plenty of other attractions, which visitors are advised not to miss. One of them is, of course, Karanji Lake, which is both a place that people go to for relaxation, and to catch sight of various migrant birds. The other attraction, however, remains largely shrouded in obscurity, owing to the difficulty in approach and lack of signs to guide the uninitiated to the destination: This is the Regional Museum of Natural History (RMNH), which is adjacent to Karanji Lake, and despite its proximity to the waterbody, and the zoo, few visitors are even aware of its existence. Low turnout at the museum has prompted the authorities of RMNH to think out of the box. RMNH officials have proposed to the authorities of Mysuru Zoo that the museum and the lake be linked so that visitors to the waterbody can visit it without any trouble.
RMNH is situated in Siddhartha Nagar, a largely residential area, and the road leading to the museum is very narrow. Lack of awareness about its location, and existence, has been languishing at the bottom of the tourists’ itinerary. The idea is to therefore bank on the inflow of tourists to the lake, and guide them to the museum through a corridor.

RMNH was built on the edge of Karanji Lake in 1995, and the museum showcases the wealth the country boasts in its diversity of flora and fauna. Now, the proposal is to construct a tunnel connecting the lake and zoo.

Specimens of amphibians, reptiles and many other birds are preserved in the museum. A huge collection of butterflies is a major attraction at RMNH, within the premises of which is also a botanical garden. The garden boasts a large collection of Ayurvedic plants. Seeds of a vast variety of plants are also on exhibition at the museum, including 40 types of ragi. However, low footfall at the museum remains a cause for concern.

RMNH chief GN Indresha confirmed to TOI that plans were afoot to increase inflow of tourists to the museum. “We have a 34-foot tall skeleton of a whale, which you do not find in many other museums. However, since both residents and tourists are unaware about it, we don’t receive tourists in large numbers,” said Indresha.

The museum chief said that there was a gate to RMNH from Karanji Lake, and a corridor connecting the two tourist destinations would help increase footfall to the former. “Moreover, we charge no entry fee, which I think is an added attraction,” Indresha said.

He further pointed out that the authorities had managed to get the street connecting the museum with the T Narasipura Road asphalted. Indresha opined that the lack of commercial outlets within the museum premises meant that it did not figure very high on the priority list of guides. “We have held discussions with officials of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) on the need to have signboards, and have an arch constructed at the entrance to the museum,” the RMNH chief added.

Executive director of Mysuru Zoo Ajit Kulkarni said that they were involved in discussions with the museum to connect the lake and RMNH. “There is a need to work on the modalities of the issue since we cannot just have visitors having free access between Karanji Lake and the museum. We need to set up ticket counters, and also take into account other security aspects too before going ahead with the plan,” Kulkarni told TOI.