By S.T. Ravikumar

Mysore/Mysuru: Even nine years after tragedy struck the city’s over a century-old landmark Lansdowne Building located in the heart of the city in 2012, where four people were killed when a portion of the roof of the building collapsed following heavy rains, the MCC (Mysuru  City Corporation), which has control over the building, is yet to take a firm decision on its fate.

Though several Governments have come and gone since then, the decrepit Lansdowne Building lies empty and in tatters even today after 9 years of the incident. 

Following the fatal tragedy, all the tenants and other occupants of the building were vacated and even now, uncertainty continues on the fate of the building and so  also that of the Heritage Devaraja Market Building located close by.

The erstwhile Mysuru Maharaja, as a mark of remembrance of the visit of the then British Viceroy Lansdowne to the city on Nov. 10, 1892, had built this aesthetically and architecturally designed structure in Gothic style. The structure is a two-storeyed one with 54 shops in the ground floor and 42 on the first floor, covering a total area of 1,495 Sq.Mts (16,092 Sq.ft).

The Lansdowne building, which withstood the test of times for decades since its construction in the last decade of 19th century, had turned decrepit since a couple of decades.

 In Aug. 2012, over four days of incessant rains, resulted in the accumulation of water on the roof of the building, following which a portion of the roof caved in on the evening of Aug. 8, 2012, killing four people on that fateful day. Subsequently, the MCC evacuated all the tenants of the building and built a temporary facility right opposite the building for businesses to continue.

Under the Heritage Structures and Circles Development plan, the MCC after deciding to renovate the building, handed over the works to Savani Constructions in 2016 at an estimated cost of Rs. 3 crore. As the works showed progress, the MCC had released Rs. 94.60 lakh to the Contractor (Savani Constructions). 

Meanwhile, a section of the front portion of nearby Devaraja Market building too collapsed, following which the then Chief Minister inspected the site and as well as Lansdowne building. The CM then had asked officials to get a report on the stability of the buildings and to stop all works until the report is got. As a result, the rejuvenation works too came to a grinding halt.

A Task Force Committee, which was formed to inspect the building and submit a report, had recommended demolition of the building and construction of a new one while keeping all heritage characteristics intact. But a Heritage Committee, which also visited the site, submitted a report  on Nov. 16, 2018 recommending that the building be repaired and rejuvenated.

But a MCC Council meeting that took place on Jan. 29, 2019, resolved to demolish the building  as it is a very old one and build a new one in its place while retaining all heritage characteristics associated with the structure.

Later, the then Deputy Commissioner on Dec. 10, 2019, convened a special meeting of Heritage Committee, during which it was decided to constitute a Technical Committee to study and determine the stability and strength of the building.

Subsequently, a technical team from KERS (Karnataka Engineering Research Station) at Belagola in Srirangapatna taluk, inspected the structure and recommended that a new building be constructed. This recommendation, along with all technical specifications, has been sent to the Government for its consideration.

But so far, the Government has been sleeping over the proposal and as such the uncertainty over the fate of the landmark Lansdowne Building continues.