The district heritage committee which met on Wednesday has opined that both Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building in the city have to be demolished to pave way for a new structure in their place.
The opinion of the statutory body will be submitted to the Government which, sources said, was also keen to have the two heritage buildings demolished on the grounds that they are structurally weak and pose a threat to public safety.
But the issue is still in the High Court of Karnataka as a section of tenants had appealed against the demolition and the court sought the opinion of the district heritage committee. If the court goes by the views of the committee then, it will clear the road for the demolition and reconstruction.
Lakshmikanth Reddy, Commissioner, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), said ‘’a clear cut decision’’ was taken in the meeting to demolish both the buildings and construct a new structure with the same façade and ‘’heritage style’’. In case the High Court goes by the committee’s report then the Government can go ahead with demolition and reconstruction, he added.
Other members of the committee said on conditions of anonymity that the Government had long made up its mind to demolish the structure but since it has to follow a procedure, and based on the orders of the High Court, it got the authorisation of the heritage committee. A few members voiced their dissent but they were clearly in a minority while there were a few absentees as well.
One of the members repeatedly drew the attention of the committee to the speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing a conference of Mayors in December 2021 wherein the Prime Minister had appealed to the latter to preserve heritage while ensuring development.
The views recently expressed by Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru that both Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building can be conserved and there were many such examples, also cut no ice with the district heritage committee.
Devaraja Market is one of the three markets conceived by the Wadiyars of Mysore – the other two being Mandi Market and Vani Vilas Market. Devaraja Market has a history of over 125 years and was among the highly recommended sites in various tourist guides for an immersion into an authentic sight, sound and smell of Mysuru.
The market weathered many disasters including a few fires while the northern entrance of the structure collapsed in 2016 which, many suspected, was triggered to hasten its demolition. The market has more than 700 tenants. The Lansdowne Building too has a history of over 120 years but is out of bounds to the public since August 2012 when a portion of the structure collapsed that left four persons dead.
