Meeting with Infosys Foundation to save Vasantha Teertha Kalyani from land sharks

Muzrai Dept wakes up to restore Kalyani to its original size Old records being dug up to refer to the original form Officials understood the gravity of the situation after a series of reports appeared in Kannada Prabha  

In response to a series of reports published in Kannada Prabha, with regard to the distortion of Vasantha Teertha Kalyani at the Vasantha Vallabharaya temple, and the efforts of land sharks to grab the land, the Muzrai Department Commissioner has finally woken up to the issue and has decided to restore it to its original size.

He has decided to stop the civil works at the Kalyani and has called for a new blueprint to restore it to its original form. A meeting is arranged with architects and the founder of Infosys Foundation, Sudha Murty, who had donated Rs 2 crore for the renovation of the Kalyani, on Thursday.

Interestingly, the Muzrai Department officials are clueless about the original form of the Kalyani and are searching for old records to find out. According to a senior employee of Muzrai Department, documents of the Vasantha Teertha have been maintained from 1963 to 1973. These documents will be referred to draw a fresh blue print, sources said. P Dinesh, Tahsildar, Religious Endowment Department, confirmed about the meeting on Thursday.

It can be recalled here that the developer Naidu Projects had written to the Religious Endowment Department in 2013, stating that he would donate 9,000 sq ft land to the Vasantha Vallabharaya temple and in exchange to construct a 40 ft road in the south side of the Kalyani to facilitate residents of his property. He even obtained a preliminary approval from the executive officer of the temple, tahsildar and the Commissioner.

According to the records, to the south and the east of the Kalyani were vacant plots and the Kalyani was to the west. To the north was Kanakapura Road and Vasanthapura main road joining it to Mysore Road. The Special DC had immediately discovered the land grab intention of the builder and reported to the Commissioner, on Dec 3, 2013, that a 40-ft road to the east would facilitate commuting to the private plots on the south, hence there was no need to construct another 40-ft road on the south of the Kalyani. Accordingly the Special DC had rejected the appeal.

The builder had schemed to construct a road on the Kalyani itself to commute to the plots on the south side. Vigilant public saw through the scheme and petitioned to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, which also saved the Kalyani.

The temple authorities, who are hand in glove with the builders, approached Infosys Foundation and convinced them to donate Rs 2 crore towards development of the temple Kalyani. The reason projected was that the change in design would facilitate the public to view the Teppotsava. However, an expose by the Kannada Prabha has finally called for redesigning the restoration works.