Mysuru: At a recent meeting of the district administration, Mysuru Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep directed his officers to identify vacant spaces to construct community centres. Though new Bhavans to cater to different class of people and area may be a necessity, authorities must also evince interest in creating a database of all its properties and also maintain all buildings under its control.

Many of these community centres constructed in city are in a state of neglect in the Central Business District and extensions. Drawing the administration’s attention to such structures, social activist environmentalist Vasanthkumar Mysoremath has opined that the administration must take steps to maintain the existing community halls and government structures. He has cited many examples of community halls and buildings being neglected.

Visvesvaraya Bhavan,  K.R. Circle

The below photo is that of Cellar Floor of Visvesvaraya Bhavan in K.R. Circle, a Central Business District of Mysuru. The structure belongs to Mysore City Corporation. It is filled with filthy water, emanates smell of urine and defecation and one can see garbage dumped and various other solid waste rotting here.

Water level increases when it rains and staircase is full of a million spits, floor and steps are damaged and poses a health hazard. It is totally neglected in its upkeep and maintenance and as we have observed, only during Dasara the exteriors are given a coat of paint.   

There are scores of tenants including banks, cloth and other showrooms, newspaper offices, chartered accountants, advocates, private clubs, government offices, electronic goods, fast food hotels etc. It is a common scene to see thousands of people climbing this and other buildings in K.R. Circle to watch the annual Dasara procession. Visvesvaraya Bhavan is waiting for a tragedy to happen if not attended to immediately.

Community Hall,  Jamboo Savari Marga, Tilak Nagar

This is a file photo taken on 16th May 2010 and even now also, it looks exactly the same. This skeleton structure was a planned Community Hall, sometime in 2003, to help middle/lower middle class residents of Tilak Nagar and Mandi Mohalla areas for holding community functions like marriages, awareness programmes and public functions etc. for the people of the oldest city centre areas – Tilak Nagar/ Mandi Mohalla/ Gaanigara Keri and other surrounding areas.

The foundation/pillars/ entire structure built roughly in an area of 80’X120’ appears to have become dangerously weak due to water logging, bad maintenance and misuse. Even today it remains totally neglected and gets water-logged during rains. It is an ideal mosquito breeding spot and dumping ground for waste and also famous for after-dark anti-social activities. Lakhs of rupees have been wasted on this unfinished agenda of MCC.

Centenary Hall on New Sayyaji Rao Road, Tilak Nagar

• Department: Physically Disabled and Senior Citizens Welfare Department
• Place:  Deaf and Dumb School premises (about 5 acres), New Sayyaji Rao Road – Raja Marga
• Estimated Cost: Rs. 50+ lakh
• Time taken: More than 9 years for construction
• Building completed in 2013, but lying idle

In order to commemorate 100 years of service by the Deaf and Dumb School, the above centenary hall was planned and constructed. With cost escalation and time over-runs and interest on investment, it must have cost more than a few crores of rupees but this building is yet to serve the purpose for which it was planned.

Since the Hall is located in an area of more than five acres in the heart of the city with enough space for parking and other purposes, this spacious hall is eminently suitable for conducting training/seminars, workshops, etc. But for reasons that are not transparent and accountable, it has remained idle or is being used for purposes other than the purpose for which it was built.

Vasanthkumar Mysoremath has stated that there are many such vacant government lands/CA sites of MUDA and other unfinished buildings/vacant lands of MCC in city and surrounding extensions that are not being accounted for or have been encroached upon.

There is an urgent need for mapping the entire city, superimpose on old maps, arrive at a near perfect properties data – private and government – for creating a data bank and increasing collection of property tax on a realistic basis.