It's a heritage building from any count, affirms museums department

Moodbidri: People of this Jain pilgrimage centre have a battle at hand. This is not a poll-related battle but against insensitiveness and almost a tyrannical kind of treating the heritage buildings of the town. The local administration has been arm twisted to be a mute spectator to the plans of a few powerful people in the government to demolish a heritage structure and look the other way. In fact, the City Municipality machinery has been ordered to sever power and water connections to this heritage building and furniture is being moved out.

But thanks to a few officials in the Museums and Heritage Buildings Department they have taken note of the article written in The Hans India Bengaluru edition ( Feb 22) and acted on it. An official of the Assistant Director of the department has been deputed to give a report to the department after visiting it. On Wednesday he visited it and has already reported the scenario to his superiors. In terms of effect, it is significant and perhaps the government will stop its efforts to demolish the cherished building.

A senior archaeology expert from Mysore Prof NS Rangaraju Former professor and Chairman DOS in Ancient history and Archaeology and Heritage conservation expert is known for the work he has taken up in the royal city of Mysuru. Rangaraju told The Hans India that the "Moodbidri Inspection Bungalow meets all the specifications of a heritage building, going by the standards the building's age, the material used for construction and style of the architecture and being a commemorative structure- the Moodbidri Inspection Bungalow popularly called as 'Lawly Bungalow' meets all these characteristics. So it cannot be demolished and cannot even build anything anywhere near that". "I do not know how the Archaeological Survey of India missed out on this building. The palace of the Chowtas built more or less at the same time also in Moodbidri is now a heritage building" Prof. Rangaraju mused.

According to the Heritage Zonal Regulation, the committee of 21 people who have expertise and competence in this field headed by the Deputy Commissioner can only decide the fate of the building, no elected leader or the government can a call, if anybody elected representative or cohorts take arbitrary action it will be actionable under several sections of Indian Heritage buildings regulations and even under civil and criminal procedure codes. According to sources, the demolition machinery will be anytime moved into action later this week. The building is The PWD Traveller's Bungalow which 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.