Legislator, Minister hoodwink people, join forces to demolish 115-yr-old building

Moodbidri: This heritage town, a place that is also known as Jain Kashi is in a quandary to save one of its heritage buildings that is 115 years old. BJP legislator from Moodbidri Umanath Kotian and urban development minister V Somanna have effectively tried to hoodwink the civil society. They held a foundation stone laying ceremony in Mulky about 30 kilometres from Moodbidri for building a new Inspection Bungalow in the place where the heritage building stands now majestically.

This tiled building still in its strong form wears the red colour that used be the colour of all government buildings in the pre-independence period. It is located in the middle of the town and represents the heritage of the town. The Moodbidri town itself deserves to be a heritage town as it hosts 18 Jain Basadis and 18 water bodies that carry the architectural heritage of the Jain regime of the past.

The PWD Traveller's Bungalow was built in 1907 to commemorate the visit of Sir Arthur Lawley, the then Governor of Madras was the administrator of coastal parts of Karnataka, the plaque fixed to the building states. Governor Lawley was one of the administrators who had been very dear to the hearts of the people as he used to give time for listening to the grievances.

Oral historians of the town say that it was the last government building that is standing in Moodbidri which will have to be conserved and the civil society is willing to support the conservation move.

But the government officials point out that the demolition will begin soon and even tenders have been floated. In a clandestine move, the MLA and the minister had kept this move out of the earshot of the people and held the function for groundbreaking ceremony in Mulky town far away from Moodbidri town. This has also enraged the civil society of Moodbidri.

According to the conservation activists in the town, any building over 100 years of age could be conserved and restored as per the Indian heritage conservation norms under the Department of heritage buildings and museums in Mysuru. When asked about this scheme the government officials in PWD just said 'no comments'.