MCC razes illegal houses at Gayathripuram Park; Residents claim civic action illegal

Mysuru: Armed with earth movers and trucks, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) staff this morning demolished houses which it claimed had been illegally constructed on land that has been classified as a park at Gayathripuram.

On learning about the demolition, BJP leaders arrived at the spot and urged the officials to stop the action, alleging that the process was illegal as the property owners were in lawful possession of the properties.

Police personnel deployed at the spot took the protesters into preventive custody and shifted them to the City Armed Reserve (CAR) Grounds, from where they were later released.

Following their release, the BJP workers returned to the spot and staged a dharna, raising slogans against the State Government, MCC, City Police, Narasimharaja MLA Tanveer Sait and Karnataka Exhibition Authority Chairman Ayub Khan.

The protesters alleged that Tanveer Sait and Ayub Khan had remained silent despite being aware of the property owners’ claims to the land.

Giridhar, one of the protesters, also alleged that Police personnel, including Nazarbad PSI Manjunath, had manhandled the protesters and used abusive language against them. The protesters demanded that City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar and DCP (Law and Order) Dr. Harsha Priyamvada visit the spot.

Issue pending before Court

Speaking to media persons, advocate Prajwal, representing the property owners, said that his clients possessed documents, including e-khata issued by the MCC, to establish their ownership of the properties.

“They have been residing on the properties for more than 40 years. Moreover, the MCC has carried out the demolition when the matter is pending before the Court,” he said, claiming that the MCC had no documents to establish that the land belonged to it.

Prajwal said that on Sept. 22, MCC officials had orally informed the property owners that the alleged encroachments would be cleared. “However, the MCC has not followed the rules. Under Section 321 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, the MCC Commissioner has to issue notice before carrying out a demolition. But the MCC has demolished the structures without issuing any notice,” he alleged.

It may be recalled that Star of Mysore had carried a report titled ‘Houses inside public park!’ on Sept. 18, highlighting the alleged encroachments in the Gayathripuram park. The report had pointed out that portions of the park along the Gayathripuram-Kyathamaranahalli Road, near the Hutta (Anthill) Temple, also known as Bhakta Kumbara Mutt, had allegedly been encroached upon over the years.

Narasimharaja MLA Tanveer Sait had also performed a ground-breaking ceremony for road-widening works at the site about six months ago. Meanwhile, the protest was still on at the time we went to the Press.