Mysore/Mysuru: Alleging that a large scale land grabbing along the four Highways connecting the city is silently going on, former FKCCI (Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry) President Sudhakar S. Shetty has urged the authorities to put an end to it.

In a press release, Sudhakar Shetty said that Mysuru is an important tourist destination in South India and has earned the cleanest city tag two times. 

Pointing out that Mysuru presents a very conducive environment for becoming a major industrial hub, he said that some unscrupulous persons are out to grab lands along the Highways connecting the city by taking advantage of the current crisis when the entire country is battling the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. 

Noting that there is every chance that large parcels of land along the Outer Ring Road (at the junction of Devegowda Circle and Bannur Road), Mysuru-Bengaluru Road (stretch from Tipu Circle to Srirangapatna town), Nanjangud Road (stretch from Gun House to Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Ashram) and Hunsur Road (stretch from Hinkal to Yelwal) may have been grabbed by land mafia, he said that the setting up of petty shops is part of a conspiracy to create fake documents on ownership of land. 

Alleging that such illegal petty shops have turned out to be dens of gambling, drug peddling and such other illegal activities, Shetty also claimed that these shops have become a hub for goondaism.

Urging the Police, Urban Development, Revenue, PWD and all other concerned Departments to take serious note of the issue and act against goonda elements and land grabbers, he said that stringent action must be taken against petty shops which have turned out into anti-social hubs. Wanting the District Administration to act fast and end land grabbing along the Highways, he warned that any inaction by the authorities may become a big headache for the Government in the near future.