Nandi Hills, which is one of the most famous tourist locations around Bengaluru, is set to reopen from Wednesday, December 1, just over two months after it had closed down. Nandi Hills is in Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district and is a very popular tourist spot, just a few hours away from Bengaluru. Nandi Hills had previously been closed as a 43-meter stretch of the road leading to its summit had collapsed due a landslide caused by heavy rain on August 25.
Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar in a tweet on Monday, November 29, announced that the road had been rebuilt. “A 43-metre stretch of Nandi Hills road which was washed away in a landslide on Aug 25 has been rebuilt. The work on the new road has been completed in less than 3 months. #Nandihills (sic),” he tweeted.
Speaking to The News Minute, R Latha, the Deputy Commissioner of Chikkaballapur said that tourists will be allowed to visit Nandi Hills on weekdays. However, entry on weekends will be restricted to those who book rooms in Nandi Hills.
Additionally, Latha said that masks will be made compulsory for all tourists. “We are still thinking about tourists furnishing their vaccine certificates to enter as it will cause crowding and the roads are narrow. So, we are currently concentrating on masks and physical distancing. Wearing masks will be enforced and if anyone is found not wearing a mask, they will be fined,” she said.
Earlier when the landslide had occurred, visuals had surfaced on social media which showed mud from one side on the hill had collapsed and had piled up on the road. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams had been sent to the spot to clear the debris.