Jumbos had lion’s share in 2011
Sreekantswamy B
Mysore was in news in 2011 for one or the other reason. The year began on a good note with the launching of Mysore-Shimoga inter-city express train by the then chief minister B S Yeddyurappa on January 16.
The following month hosted an event to cherish. Manasagangotri, the campus of the University of Mysore, completed 50 years of existence.
‘Suvarna Manasa 2011’, an exhibition to mark the occasion from February 15 to 24, had all the departments displaying related exhibits to woo curious minds, registered record footfalls. Owing to the response the authorities extended the exhibition for two more days (earlier planned till February 22).
However, the worst came in March, when the corridors of Crawford Hall echoed with the allegation of sexual harassment against a faculty member. Sarita, a research scholar, attempted suicide and was admitted at a hospital here. She had lodged a complaint with Vijayanagar police, accusing her guide (now suspended dean of zoology department) Shivabasavaiah of demanding sexual favours. The incident that came to light on March 5 with the suicide bid still remains a sensational case.
April belonged to the KSRTC with the state’s transport corporation dedicating inter model transit centres (IMTC) at Kuvempunagar (on April 9) and Yelwal (April 10). It was on April
9 again, Bus Day was launched by KSRTC to encourage public transport.
The month of May saw a police-public friendly initiative with the launching of ‘Namma
Mane Police’.
Under this project, police personnel were entrusted with houses under the jurisdiction of respective police stations to improve rapport with residents. In the month, the city lost two renowned politicians in M S Gurupadaswamy and Vedanta Hemmige.
Wild jumbos
Worst returned in June, when two incidents that occurred on the same day (June 8) kept Mysore in circulation for long. Two wild jumbos raided the city, keeping the residents on tenterhooks till they were captured and shifted to a forest. Unfortunately, a security guard on Narayana Shastri road had to pay with his life when the jumbo trampled him, while five others suffered injuries.
It was on the same day, two students were kidnapped near Mahajana College in Jayalakshmipuram. The students H M Sudhindra and H S Vighnesh from Hunsur had been abducted before they could attend their BBM exams in the college. The episode took an interesting turn when their bodies were recovered in Chikkaballapura.
But what raised the eyebrows of many is the busting of the case with the arrest of six persons belonging to a banned outfit Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD).
While July and August had nothing much to offer, a particular incident in September put Mysore on global map again. A bungalow of English writer R K Narayan in Yadavagiri was being dismantled when the media intervened, putting a full stop to the demolition.
The legal heirs of the late writer had decided to construct an apartment and had entered into an agreement with a private builder. The local body, which had by then realised its mistake by granting a no-objection certificate (NOC) to raze the building without knowing its significance, acted swiftly by revoking the permission.
Now, the urban development department has taken a decision to develop the building as ‘Malgudi’ named after one of the famous works of the writer. In the same month, Mysore’s connectivity with other places by air stopped. Kingfisher, the lone airliner that was operating from Mysore shut operations, promising to reschedule in future.
Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, popular as Mysore Zoo, joined the league of rare menageries in November. The zoo received five green anacondas from Sri Lanka.
Visitors galore
No sooner the new inmates were opened for public view in a temporary enclosure on November 25, the zoo began to receive heavy influx of visitors that is continuing till date. Earlier, the sand policy for the district introduced on November 21 snowballed into a controversy.
In December, the city lost yet another priceless gem. M S Nagaraja Rao, former director general of Archaeological Survey of India passed away. He was the only officer from south India to decorate the coveted post .
