Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jul 18: Former state president of Karnataka Sahitya Parishat, Hairkrishna Punaroor, has accused the trustees of Karnad Sadashiv Rao Memorial Trust, started in the name of the great freedom fighter, of misusing the land allotted to the trust by the deputy commissioner in the year 1966. "There is no Trust office there. No work relating to the late freedom fighter is conducted by the Trust. Instead, a statue of K K Shetty and K K Shetty Centenary Building stand in the site," he said.

Addressing a press conference in the city on Friday July 17, Punaroor said that 28 cents of land had been sanctioned at the Light House Hill in the city for the office of the said trust and the Congress Party office, in 1966. While allotting the land, conditions like not cutting down the standing trees, not using the site for commerce or business etc., had been spelt out. After the Congress split, the Congress shifted elsewhere. In the meanwhile, the by-laws of the Trust was tampered with. A building was constructed at the site and the ground floor was given to a wine shop. Shops have also been built and rented out. Even after complaining to the district deputy commissioner, nothing had been done for 18 months because of some pressure. After the deputy commissioner recently asked him to take over the land and building back, the assistant commissioner did so on June 27, 2009, he explained.

Mangalore City Corporation permitted construction of the building without making verification of records. Some shops in the building have no door numbers. The revenue department remained mute spectator to the wrongdoings. Although Karnataka State Finance Corporation locked up the computer class being run there, the class is now being held illegally, by drawing power line from there, Punaroor alleged.

The property is being used by a few persons as their own. A person named Gunasheela Bantwal in a petition filed in the High Court, has showed the respondents as the Udupi deputy commissioner and Udupi assistant commissioner. This has been deliberately done to mislead the court. This was done with an intention to ensure that the case gets decided ex parte, as the concerned officials will not respond to the notices, particularly so as there is no assistant commissioner in Udupi. In an application made to the court, we have drawn the attention of the High Court towards these inconsistencies. We have demanded for the dissolution of the present committee for the violations and wrest back the land allotted it, he explained.

Rashid Bolar was present at the press conference.