Mysore/Mysuru: The proposal to develop a parking facility on the vacant land behind Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry is not new.

The idea had first been mooted in 2019, citing the availability of nearly five acres of open space in the heart of the city.

At the time, Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry Management Committee President C. Krishnappa had suggested constructing a multi-level parking complex using funds from the Muzrai Department.

The proposal was discussed at a meeting of the Choultry Management Committee, which resolved to prepare an action plan for utilising the space for public purposes. However, the plan did not materialise.

Mixed reactions

The suggestion had drawn mixed reactions. Then City Police Commissioner K.T. Balakrishna had welcomed the move, stating that such a facility could help ease the acute parking problem in the city centre.

However, Yaduveer Wadiyar, Titular Head of the erstwhile Mysore Royal Family and now Mysuru-Kodagu MP, had strongly opposed the proposal, raising concerns over heritage conservation.

He had warned that converting heritage premises into parking facilities would erode the city’s historical character. “If all heritage campuses are turned into parking lots, we will lose important structures built by erstwhile rulers and chieftains,” he had said, terming the proposal “unfortunate.”

Emphasising Mysuru’s identity as a Heritage City, Yaduveer had pointed out that several landmark structures, including the Mysore Palace, Devaraja Market, Lansdowne Building and Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry, form the cultural core of the city.

“Commercialising such heritage structures will dilute Mysuru’s legacy and could even cost the city its Heritage City tag,” he had cautioned.