Yaduveer fears Mysuru may end up parking-lot city

Scion of the erstwhile royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar expressed fear that Mysuru might end up as a ‘parking-lot city’.

Speaking during the launch of the Mysuru chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) at a private hotel here on Friday, he expressed surprise at yet another plan, by Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry Managing Committee, to build a multi-level parking-lot, along with a commercial complex.

It has to be noted that the Tourism department has a plan to build a ‘tourist hub’ on the Dasara Exhibition Grounds that would have multi-level parking and other amenities. The multi-level parking lot on the premises of Rangacharlu Town Hall is almost ready and it was used during the last Dasara. Under the guise of providing a multi-level parking-lot, Garuda Mall has already come up near KR Circle. There is plan to include a multi-level parking-lot in the building proposed to be built by demolishing the century-old Devaraja Market.

Heritage at stake

Yaduveer said that he was not against progress and development, but was against development at the cost of heritage. “Unfortunately, heritage which should be a pride of the citizens, the custodians have misused in Mysuru for commercial purposes. The voice of the custodians, to restore the Landsdowne Building and Devaraja Market building, is not being considered by the government. There is need to draw a middle line between development and conservation of heritage,” he said.

Dasara legacy

Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G Sankar urged INTACH to document Dasara celebrations, being held since 1610 in the erstwhile Mysuru state, as a continuation of the Mahanavami of the Vijayanagar empire, and to strive to get an intangible heritage tag for it.

He pointed at two trees on the premises of his official quarters Jala Sannidhi, built in 1894 — Bombax pentandra (white silk cotton tree) and Ficus benjamina (weeping fig) — which are more than a century-old. The DC urged INTACH to document such heritage trees in the city, in view of conserving natural heritage.

Wadiyars’ role

He expressed concern over the languages and dialects that may become extinct and suggested their studies and documentation in association with Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL).

He said, “INTACH can also organise visits and awareness programmes to educate the people on local culture and heritage. The members of the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru, who ruled over half of the present Karnataka, can also play a major role in spreading the love among the people, about heritage,” he said.