Sir,

Unlike other ‘heritage’ structures like the Taj Mahal, Mysore Palace, Belur-Halebid temples, where people appreciate them from a distance, Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building have withstood the rough and tough and wear and tear for more than a century and a quarter. Because these heritage structures were neglected and not maintained and were allowed to deteriorate, so much so now on the verge of total collapse, there are arguments for and against the demolition. Lansdowne Building sadly took away four precious lives and in the name of ‘heritage’ we shouldn’t allow such tragedies again.

Devaraja Market is unkempt, messy inside and unruly outside. Once I asked a relative of mine who has a shop in Devaraja Market: How do you manage if you have to answer the ‘nature’s call’? His reply was: ‘I have made friends with staff of a bank nearby and privileged to use their toilet’! Occupants of Lansdowne Building probably had no such problems as the road on the back of the building serves as an open toilet!

Parking is going to be a major problem in this area in the future and this can be mitigated to some extent by provisioning underground parking. Therefore, it’s better to pull down these fragile structures and replace replicas with proper amenities and improvements. Squatters, illegal occupants and encroachers should be vacated and occupants’ who are paying a very nominal rent now could then be asked to pay more, thus generating more revenue to the MCC.

– Mubasher Mirza, Bannimantap, 20.2.2019

You can also mail us your views, opinions, and stories to [email protected]