Onus on citizens to bring pressure on Government to save Mysuru’s over 600 heritage structures

Mysuru: A new Heritage Committee will be formed with the active involvement of citizens to save the crumbling heritage structures of Mysuru.

The Committee will be formed by Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) and will have heritage experts, students from engineering and architectural colleges, global conservationists and architects. This was decided at a meeting on heritage buildings conducted by MGP at its Office in Yadavagiri here yesterday.

The initiative will involve the citizens of Mysuru and the student community. The meeting was attended by Prof. N.S Rangaraju, retired Professor from the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore, who is also a Member of the Heritage Conservation Committee, Government of Karnataka and Convener of INTACH, Mysuru Chapter and former Dean of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Dr. Syed Shakeeb-Ur-Rahman and other stakeholders.

 Lack of interest

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, the Founding President of MGP Bhamy V. Shenoy said that there is an absolute lack of maintenance of heritage structures in Mysuru and neither the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) nor the State Government nor the Department of Archaeology, Heritage and Museums are showing any interest in conserving the heritage structures.

For example, the Devaraja Market imbroglio has not been resolved yet. No efforts have been made to conserve the heritage structure and it is dying a slow death. The Lansdowne Building is already in shambles and here too, no efforts for restoration have been made. As none of the authorities is interested in conservation, the onus must shift on citizens to bring pressure on them,  he added.

Pressure group

“We have already contacted global heritage conservationists like an expert from IIT Madras, who is the consultant for the conservation of the Angkor Wat Temple Complex in Cambodia requesting him to be a part of the Committee. Also, we will involve the students of engineering and architectural colleges of Mysuru and will create a pressure group to influence the Government to act on the falling heritage buildings,” Bhamy Shenoy explained.

“Though many heritage structures have fallen in Mysuru there is no sign of their restoration despite many public movements. The Department of Archaeology, Heritage and Museums has initiated a survey of 131 buildings by the District Heritage Committee but there is an additional 165 heritage structures and no one is talking about them,” he regretted.

When asked how the MGP Heritage Committee will be different from the already existing District Heritage Committee, Bhamy Shenoy said that the District Heritage Committee has been constituted by the State Government and has a limited scope.

“This Committee can only recommend but has no say in other aspects. Its scope is limited and it cannot go against the Government. The MGP Heritage Committee, on the other hand, will be an activist group that will drive home the urgency of conservation and exert pressure on the authorities to act. We want to involve the public so that interest can be created on conservation so that it becomes a people’s movement,” he added.

“During the meeting, Prof. Rangaraju revealed that as per the latest assessment, there were nearly 600 heritage buildings in Mysuru but only 131 have been notified as heritage buildings. We were told that in the absence of strict regulations, the structures are under threat,” Bhamy Shenoy added.

Note: As there are living monuments and dead monuments, it is necessary to make a “distinction” between the heritage structures as usable for the purpose for which it is built and non-usable meant for tourist attraction. In Mysuru we have buildings like Devaraja Market and Lansdowne building that are usable and those like the ornamental Government House main Northern Gate, Nazarbad, that is non-usable. Now the question is: Should we conserve and restore the highly dilapidated Devaraja Market and Lansdowne building, which are to be opened for the use of millions of people on daily basis or not? If they are to be opened for the public as Market after such heritage resto-ration work, then the common sense will say restoration work will not work. The only way is to demolish and construct anew as per the old (heritage) architectural design. As for the Gate, it might be restored and thus conserved, as no footfalls are involved being an ornamental structure. Those who have seen Angkor Wat know that it is a dead monument, conservation work happening on regular basis and open to tourists only. Do not waste time, money and risk life. — Ed