Govt building road on heritage temple tank to help developer

The government is closing three-fourths of a 350-year-old temple tank to favour a private land developer in Vasanthapura.

Once a tranquil, picturesque suburb, Vasanthapura, off Kanakapura Road, is now a bustling neighbourhood in the southern part of the city.

Historians say the tank was built in the 17th century by Shivaji’s father Shahaji Raje Bhonsle, who had camped there. The temple dates back to the days of Chola rule (4th to 12th century), and was built in a clearing in the midst of a lush forest, where legend has it sages used to meditate.

The developer in question, N Balakrishna Naidu, is going all out to get a broad approach road to his land, and the bureaucracy is on his side. A good road adds immensely to the real estate value of his land, and makes it more saleable.

Work is afoot to close almost three-fourths of the tank to build a road about 50 feet wide. Naidu ostensibly offered a part of his land to the temple, and the muzrai authorities, in a letter to the revenue authorities, cited this act of ‘generosity’ to justify building a road over the tank.

Officials have recently altered the survey of the kalyani (Kannada for ‘stepped temple tank’), shrinking its extent. Muzrai tahsildar Dinesh admitted something was wrong with the maps, and blamed it on the architect and engineer in charge.

The intention of doctored map is to show that Naidu has parted with his land to develop the tank, and justify the road cutting through the kalyani.

Muzrai commissioner Shadakshari and deputy commissioner Kantharaju, under whom the temple falls, claimed they were not aware of what was happening at the tank.

“Where is this kalyani? Is anything happening there? Let me check with the tahsildar. If this is happening, we will halt it,” Kantharaju told DH.

Tank almost closed

A lovely piece of work from the era of the Maratha ruler, the tank was in good shape till the late 1980s. With the advent of the software industry, construction burgeoned in the area, and the tank was filled with all kinds of debris, and almost closed.

The kalyani was vandalised, and its smooth, artistically carved stones cast aside and broken. The muzrai department showed scant respect for the structure’s antiquity and heritage value.

Citizens’ campaign

The tank was restored following sustained efforts by citizen activists in 2013. The temple land, according to government records, is spread across an acre and 33 guntas, or about 80,000 sq ft. Land grabbers have taken possession of some parts.

In 2013, DH had covered the citizens’ campaign extensively, following which the muzrai department dropped its plans to cover up the tank. It has now begun work on it again.

The Vaishnavite temple in Vasanthapura, dedicated to Vasanthavallabha Swamy, has been a favourite venue for weddings. In 1887, Vasanthapura was a village five miles south of Bengaluru, with a population of just 112.

In 2012, citizens petitioned the government against the muzrai department’s misrepresentation of the survey to build a road.

They had also mentioned that the new road would benefit developer Naidu alone, since no settlement exists beyond his estate. Naidu did not respond to repeated attempts to reach him for this story.