Bhakti V Hegde/DHNS

Mangalore Aug 3: It is called the "K K Shetty Centenery building" located in the heart of the City at Light House Hill housing couple of canteens and shops. This building which is built in memory of former MP K K Shetty in 2003 though seems to be a complete commercial complex, actually stands testimony to how "Mahatma Gandhi of South India," Deshabhaktha Karnad Sadashiv Rao has been insulted.

A total area of 28 cents of land was handed over to a trust called ‘Deshbhaktha Karnad Sadashiv Rao Memorial Trust’ way back in 1964, which claimed to propogate the ideologies and principles of Deshbhaktha Karnad Sadashiva Rao, for which he sacrificed his entire life.

The land was allotted under government order by the then deputy commissioner subject to stringent conditions to strictly house the office of the trust only and for no other purpose.

The land was allotted free of cost for a for non-remunerative purpose, on the special condition that entire area where the present K K Shetty Centenary Building has been put should not be utilised to put up any structure as it was earmarked to maintain environmental aspects.

Meddling with the Cashorina, sandalwood, Morinda Citrifolia and other valuable trees growing on this land was also prohibited. But the same land which has been defined as "lung space" in the records has been now strangled by K K Shetty Centenary Building.

Another startling fact is that the Trust has fraudulently taken a permission from the Mangalore City Corporation to put up a hostel while the building today does not house any hostel.

Some of the admirers of Deshabhaktha Karnad Sadashiv Rao say that the land was allotted free of cost to the Trust to carry on the project of implementing and propogating the ideologies of Deshabhaktha Karnad Sadashiv Rao, failing which the Trust has overruled and humiliated the office of the Deputy Commissioner.

When questioned, Town Planning Officer Balakrishna Gowda admitted knowing about the matter and said that since the permission was asked by a Trust, which is backed by several VIPs, he could do nothing about it.

Though the deed of the Trust stated that the building shall be mandatorily named as "Deshabhaktha Karnad Sadashiv Rao Memorial Building," neither is the building named so nor can one find the bonafide office of the Trust in the allotted land.

When asked about the violations, Trust President Pramoda Shetty, daughter of K K Shetty blatantly denied all the charges and said that the land is the Trust’s prerogative and property and hence nobody can question the decision of the Trust as far as utilisation of the land is concerned.

The admirers of Deshabhaktha Karnad Sadashiv Rao only urge the district administration to take note of the issue and accept the guardianship to retain the office of the trust only on the land and no other structure so that memories of Deshabhaktha Karnad Sadashiv Rao are not lost in the "cauldrons of modernisation."