Heritage week ends with a call to preserve old buildings

Mangaluru: The two-day Heritage Week celebration ended on Sunday with a call to preserve and maintain the old heritage buildings of the Dakshina Kannada district in general and Mangaluru city in particular. Heritage activists, elders, and preservationists from several organisations, including INTACH have felt and strongly expressed the need for the preservation of heritage sites.

The district administration of the Dakshina Kannada district had taken the lead in organising this event at the site where the first Deputy Commissioner of the district, Major Thomas Munroe of the erstwhile British government, worked from in 1799. The building acquired a new lease of life after Deputy Commissioner Dr. Mullai Muhilan thought it fit for the event to be held in one of the heritage landmarks of the city.

In the last two days, many events happened there, like panel discussions related to the preservation of heritage, upkeep of the sites, art exhibitions, talks and even a heritage walk free for all to participate. Leaders in the field of preservation of heritage in the district including Niren Jain organised the events in the last two days.

It was remembered on this occasion that the district administration of Dakshina Kannada had 40 spots in Mangaluru city under ‘heritage’ category the small towns around Mangaluru have also raised the flag of demand with the district office to give heritage tag to some of the spots in Puttur and Moodbidri. Elders in these two towns contend that they also have few buildings that need to be identified as heritage buildings.

Thanks to committed heritage activists of the district, many heritage sites have been preserved and protected from the onslaught of the development lobby.

Listing the sites that have been preserved through intense heritage activism Dr. Amrut Malla said “Some of the sites that were preserved including the house of Dr Kota Shivarama Karanth, Gandhi Katte, Kombettu school in Puttur, Lawly house, Jain heritage sites, at least 3 heritage water bodies- all in Moodbidri. He remembered that even the old Deputy Commissioner’s office in Mangaluru had faced the threat, but the brave heritage activists of Mangaluru city with the help of those from the district had warded it off. In one particular issue the National Highway project was diverted to save the Jain heritage town in Moodbidri which was a great achievement”.

Puttur has three buildings that are over 100 years and Moodbidri has two buildings that are over 100 years and few Jain Basadis that are well over 200 years elders point out.

there are two building that are over 100 years in Moodbidri, “The Patashala is the elite study centre of Jainism that is managed by a trust, this was known to be the ‘Shresti house’ in the past and after the British government declared that the adopted children had no right over the property the owners of the house had challenged the British government in the Madras High court, the case has so intensely fought that the case went up to the Privy council where it was declared that 1/7th of the property should be given to the government in case the owners did not have children. This building has a history of its own and was well above 100 years old” Elders of the town remember

The Moodbidri town also has the house of the 16th century Kannada poet Rathnakara Varni’s house where his descendents live now and the house is called ‘Nagareshwara house’

Puttur town has at least three buildings that can be badged ‘heritage’ buildings. The High school at Kombettu has attained centurion status in 2016. Jnanapith Award winner late Dr. K Shivarama Karanth, doyen of the co-operative movement Molahalli Shivararo and well known Kannada Scholar and former vice chancellor of the Hampi Kannada University Dr Vivek Rai and a well known Judge of Karnataka Nemiraj Malla were the students of this school. Jayarama Shetty principal of the school said 1395 children were studying in the school and stands as one of the government schools that was having a big number of students.

But the government primary school at Nellikatte in Puttur which is over 152 years was also great property of heritage, but the elders in Puttur lament that they could not save the building being demolished by a strong nexus between politicians and contractors and if heritage tag is given it might even survive from falling to the developers of concrete jungles says Dr. Amrut Malla a knowledge bank in Puttur. “We congratulate former Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada A B Ibrahim for notifying 40 buildings of Mangaluru city