Tension over Ambedkar statue on BBMP land

Situation turned tense on Markham Road, behind Garuda Mall, on Thursday afternoon, after a group of 25 persons said to be members of Dr B R Ambedkar Welfare Association installed a statue of the Father of the Constitution on a piece of land owned by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.

The jurisdictional police and the Palike officials rushed to the spot and reviewed the situation.

Additional police force was deployed to ensure that no untoward incident occurred in the area.

The BBMP owns a piece of land measuring 100X30 on Markham Road. As a large number of dalits reside in the area, the BBMP had allocated a small portion of the land for the construction of the Dr B R Ambedkar Community Hall, nearly 15 years ago.

 There was a growing demand to install Ambedkar’s statue on the land, granted for the construction of the Community Hall, among the dalits residing in the area and members of Dr B R Ambedkar Welfare Association. Every year, the office-bearers of the Association hoist tri-colour there on Independence Day and Republic Day.

“Despite repeated pleas, the Palike did not take any step to construct the Community Hall. Local politicians, goons and a few vested interests are trying to grab the land allocated for the purpose,” said members of Dr B R Ambedkar Welfare Association. In addition to this, owners of an apartment in the area have erected sheds on the land to house their security guards. Dalit leaders who questioned this were assaulted, Venkataswamy, State-unit president of Samata Sainik Dal told Deccan Herald.

Permission

Office-bearers of the Association, who secured permission on January 24 to hoist the tri-colour on the Republic Day, put up a pandal on Markham Road Friday.

In a move to pressure the Palike to construct the Community Hall, they decided to install Ambedkar’s statue, said Venkataswamy.

“The act of installing the statue should only be seen as a desperate bid to save the land granted by the Palike. We refuse to shift the statue till our long-standing demand is met,” he added.

The atmosphere was tense after the installation of the statue around 11:30 am. The members hoisted the flag, held a public meeting and later dispersed. The pandal too was removed soon after. However, police were deployed to prevent any violence, said a police officer.

Senior Palike officials and the police convened an emergency meeting with the dalit leaders and promised the construction of the Community Hall at the earliest.

The BBMP had sanctioned Rs 30 lakh towards the construction of a Primary Health Centre (PHC) on its land measuring 3,000 sqft. However, even before the construction of the PHC, the land is being usurped by anti-social elements, said a Palike official. “The issue was raised in the BBMP Council meeting. Joint Commissioner (East) has been directed to clear the encroachments soon,” said local corporator Shivakumar.