Heritage expert says conservation possible

Mysore/Mysuru: Heritage enthusiasts today launched ‘Save Heritage Signature Campaign‘ following the recent announcement made by Urban Development Minister Byrathi Basavaraj that two heritage structures — Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building — will be demolished and rebuilt at an estimated cost of Rs.145 crore.

Prof. N.S. Rangaraju, Member, Mysuru Heritage Committee and a Historian, inaugurated the campaign in front of Lansdowne Building by putting the signature this morning.

Speaking on the occasion, he said it was possible to restore both Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building. But the Minister seems to be in a great hurry to pull down both the iconic structures. 

Byrathi Basavaraj was not aware of the fact that two cases pertaining to demolition of Devaraja Market were pending before the Karnataka High Court. While one petition was filed by traders of the Market, a few senior citizens of Mysuru have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). However, no case was pending regarding demolition of Lansdowne Building, he said. 

Does the Minister’s statement about demolition and rebuilding of those two heritage structures not amount to contempt of court? he asked.

Venting out his anger, Prof. Rangaraju said Devaraja Market was feeding around 10,000 people daily. Over 700 shops are located inside the Market. In fact, no other city in the country has so much of heritage structures like the Mysuru city. All heritage structures except Mysore Palace and Jayalakshmi Vilas, have been constructed in two-storey style, ground and first floor. The specialty of Lansdowne building was that it has the wooden wall. It was very rare to find such buildings anywhere in city. “If you want to pull down both Devaraja and Lansdowne buildings, first remove the heritage tag and do whatever you want,” he fumed.

He said Mysuru got the ‘heritage city tag’ from S.M. Krishna, while he was the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Krishna also created a separate Department for protection and conservation of all heritage structures across the State. The heritage structures are divided into four groups — A,B,C& D. Both Devaraja Market and Lansdowne building come under ‘A’ category. The citizens of Mysuru must unite and press for conservation than demolition of the heritage structures,  the expert added.

K.M. Nishanth, Convener, Save Heritage Campaign, said the signature campaign will be held in front of all heritage structures for the next ten days. Then, a memorandum will be submitted to the Chief Minister to intervene and save these two buildings in the heart of the city from demolition.