Two domes on controversial Mysuru bus stand roof taken down overnight
Mysuru: Two of the domes on the roof of the bus stand by the Mysuru – Nanjangud Road that had triggered controversy, including a clash between two BJP leaders, were demolished on Saturday night as ordered by Krishnaraja MLA S A Ramadas.
The ‘new look of the bus stand’, with three domes, had led Ramadas and Mysuru MP Prathap Simha to have a cold war for about a month. This, in turn, is learned to have led to dissatisfaction among the people.
Ramadas had gotten the three domes installed on the roof of the bus stand in his constituency reportedly with Rs 10 lakh from the MLA fund.
Prathap Simha, however, said that the domes looked like the tops of mosques (gumbaz). He also demanded that the domes be cleared off the roof of the bus stand, and warned that he would do so personally if the concerned persons did not.
Ramadas not only clarified that the new design was inspired by the Mysore Palace and not Muslim architecture but, as the clash continued, he got posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and the Suttur Mutt pontiff put up on the walls of the bus stand. He also got the golden-colored domes, painted red, in an attempt to stop the MP from creating further controversy.
Prathap Simha, however, is learned to have pressed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials to issue notice to the Mysuru City Corporation and the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL) to respond to the matter of the domes that had given rise to controversy on communal lines within a week’s time.
Meanwhile, the MP, displaying the blueprint of the bus stand, is learned to have pushed his deadline by a week. He is also said to have utilized the debate on social media regarding the controversial matter for his political gains.
MLA Ramadas too is said to have complained to the chief minister, asking for an inspection by technical authorities.
Following such developments, bowing before the suggestions of the party seniors, the legislator is to have gotten two of the domes pulled down from the roof of the bus stand, retaining the dome at the Centre.
Ramadas has told the citizens in a press release issued on Sunday that he took the decision to demolish the two domes to prevent any further problems or possible clashes.
“I wish to focus on the progress of the constituency rather than on religion, caste, creed, or community, as I have been doing for the last 30 years of my political career. As I find that the domes, which were designed on the lines of the Mysore Palace, made way for controversy, I go by the advice given by the seniors. I have decided that only the middle dome on the roof of the bus stand be in place, while the other two will be pulled down. I do not wish the bus stand, constructed as a facility for the public, to have a black mark of any sort,” the legislator has clarified in the press release.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
