Members of the State government-appointed Heritage Expert Committee (HEC) of Mysuru have opined that the demolition of Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building, which has been proposed by the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), may well set a dangerous precedent and endanger the city’s other heritage structures.
“In our opinion, the MCC’s decision is not in the best interests of the city of Mysuru, which has the heritage tag and is the cultural capital of Karnataka,” the members have said in a letter to Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar.
The members urged Mr. Vijay Bhaskar to bring into force the Heritage Regulations (including listing of heritage buildings and precincts) drafted by the HEC, which have been lying unattended to for the past eight years, in order to pre-empt demolition of heritage structures at “the instance of some vested interests” and help protect, preserve and conserve Mysuru’s heritage. This will surely be in the larger interests of Mysuru, resulting in boosting tourism and the general economy of the region, they said.
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During a meeting held on February 4 and chaired by district in-charge Minister G.T. Deve Gowda, members of the HEC had unequivocally opposed demolition of Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building and maintained that the two structures could and should be restored and conserved. The Minister had promised to place the view of the HEC before the Chief Minister.
Now, the HEC members — Maj Gen S.G. Vombatkere, N.S. Rangaraju, Ichanur Kumar, V.A. Deshpande, H.D. Nagesh, and N.R. Ashok — have urged the Chief Secretary to bring the foregoing facts and arguments on the issue in favour of immediately resuming the restoration/conservation of the structures to the attention of the CM.
They have also urged him to provide them with an early opportunity to meet the Chief Minister and convey their concerns regarding the protection, preservation and conservation of Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building, as well as the unique heritage of Mysuru.
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On MCC resolution
The letter, copies of which were released to the media here on Tuesday, states that the MCC’s recent resolution was based on the report of a MCC-created Task Force that comprised engineers and did not include heritage and conservation experts.
It is notable that both Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building were under restoration/conservation work by MCC on contract. The work on both buildings was stopped by the civic body, citing the collapse on August 20, 2016 of the arched gateway on the northern face of market. “The MCC failed to conduct an inquiry into the reasons for the collapse...,” the letter says.
On February 22, 2018, at the instance of the Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru, HEC members, accompanied by MCC officials, visited both Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building to examine the methods and materials used and the need for resuming the contract restoration/conservation work. The HEC gave a Technical Report to the district administration which expressed the feasibility of restoring both structures and recommended immediate resumption of the work.
However, the work remains stalled and the structures are deteriorating because of continued neglect, they have said in the letter.