Bishop’s representatives clarify

Mysuru: The property close to the Autorickshaw stand near B.R. Ambedkar (FTS) Circle, belongs to the Church of South India (CSI) and it is not a public property, said the representatives of Bishop Mohan Manoraj — retired Sub-Inspector Mohan Das and Selvin.

The allegation of the residents of Gandhinagar that CSI had encroached upon the public road and a vacant space in front of Karunalaya Church is far from true. All relevant and supporting documents relating to the property are with us, they said.  

The Missionaries, who arrived in Mysore in 1856, bought seven acres of land in 1886 and formed a neat layout and named it ‘Karunapura.’ The sites were distributed to the people connected with the Church here, they said.

This property was transferred to CSI in Bengaluru in 1962-63 and also registered.

When there was a problem created for this property in 2016, a Committee headed by MLA Tanveer Sait and chaired by the then Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha was formed.

A survey was conducted by eight engineers and a surveyor. Excluding the encroached property, it was settled that the remaining 6.33 acres of land belonged to the Church, they said.

This property was lying in disuse and had become a den of illegal activities. In the light of this, on the orders of Bishop Mohan Manoraj, the barbed wire fencing was removed and in its place, the construction of compound had begun 25 days earlier itself. This property fully belongs to CSI and it is not Government property, they clarified once again.

It may be recalled that the residents of Gandhinagar had alleged that the property near auto stand had been encroached by CSI and they had submitted a memorandum through Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Dalita Mahasabha to the Regional Commissioner seeking a thorough investigation to clear the encroachment besides seeking action against erring officials.