Andhra Pradesh - Eluru   

Heritage building taken over

ELURU: The authorities of the Endowments Department on Thursday took over the heritage building from theYoung Men’s Hindu Association (YMHA) amidst high drama and protest from the YMHA trust board. The management of the building with an auditorium and children’s library went into the hands of a government agency from a private body for the first time in its century-long history.

Accompanied by a police force, the department officials sealed the YMHA office and auditorium notwithstanding the protest from the trust members. A galaxy of big shots from the city, who included leading financiers, film distributors, captains of industry, legal and medical professionals, artistes and politicians, who were associated with the trust management for a long time joined the protest. At one stage, they threatened to break open the locks of the department. Trust board chairman Venugopal Lunani and vice-chairman Ambika Krishna, also a former MLA of the TDP and proprietor of a city-based incense industry, and former minister Maradani Ranga Rao strongly criticised the Endowments Department for its ‘undemocratic act’. “We, a group of private individuals, are running the building for several years without any allegations. All of a sudden, the officials sealed it without offering even a dialogue to the trust members,” Mr. Krishna told the media personnel. He said they would take up the matter with the Endowments Minister and also moved the court, if necessary.”

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