Mysuru:  The issue of Hinkal Nanneshwara Temple Kalyani and the land surrounding it which has been allotted to some private educational institutions despite opposition by Hinkal villagers, has snowballed into a major controversy.

Today, District In-charge Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa intervened in the issue and sent his Personal Secretary Shobha to Hinkal to collect information about the controversy and asked her to speak to the villagers who are staging overnight protests.

Yesterday, braving rains, hundreds of villagers from Hinkal and surrounding areas staged a protest near the Kalyani demanding the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and the District Administration to take back the land that has been allotted to some private institutions. What enraged the villagers was the move of an educational institution that went ahead and set up temporary fencing at the disputed area.

Though the villagers have been protesting since the last three years, this year it was second such mass protest held yesterday. On Mar. 6 too, the villagers had blocked the Hunsur Main Road demanding that the land be handed over to the village as the area is the only public place for them. Terming the land allotment as ‘faulty’ and done after ‘ignoring the interests of the villagers’, the protesters said that they would not let go of the land at any cost.

The protesters also objected to the fencing, preventing the free movement of villagers that too when festivals are approaching. One of the educational institutions had erected a giant board that displayed the Court order. “We were planning to hold a major festival here on the occasion of Ugadi. Now we are being prevented from doing so,” villagers said.

The villagers continued the protest overnight and MLA G.T. Devegowda and Zilla Panchayat Member Rakesh Papanna reached the venue and assured the protesters that the issue will be solved and they would discuss the same with MUDA officials. This morning too, villagers protested, prompting Minister Mahadevappa to send his Personal Secretary Shobha to the protest venue to collect information.

Over 400 villagers had assembled at Hinkal today. Shobha spoke to villagers and told them that she would convey their concerns to the Minister. The villagers told her that the educational institutions that have obtained the land in question in their names had approached the Additional Civil Court by making false claims. “The Court issued Injunction orders in their favour as facts were not presented in the Court. No classes are being conducted here but the Court was misled,” claimed Hinkal Prakash and Raju who spoke to the Minister’s Secretary.

Villagers said that the land that has been allotted to the educational institutions comes under ‘B Kharab’ (government land) classification.  “Apart from the Kalyani that has been restored due to our efforts, there is one more Kalyani that is buried inside the ground. Also, many Rajakaluves (underground natural drains) are present in this land. This is due to the negligence of MUDA officials and moreover the land that legitimately belongs to Hinkal village has been sanctioned to education institutions,” Prakash told the Minister’s Secretary.

Prakash alleged that in 2011-2012, the land (CA site 28, 29, 37 and 38) was sanctioned to the educational institutions by the then Karnataka CM D.V. Sadananda Gowda when BJP leader G. Madhusudhan was a MUDA member. “These educational institutions claim that they are running classes here. But in reality, there are no academic activities here and the Additional Civil Court has been misled,” he alleged.

The case that is pending before the  Additional Civil Court will come up for hearing tomorrow. Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, MUDA Commissioner P.S. Kantharaj said that the case is coming up before the Court tomorrow and the MUDA will take a decision as per the Court orders. “We discussed the issue with villagers and they are not ready to compromise. We even approached the educational institutions and assured them of alternative CA sites. But they are not ready to leave this land. In such a situation, we will have to take a decision as per the Court orders,” he said.