Having already eaten up the footpath space, the shrine here is ready to swallow the road too.
Right now, there is some space left for vehicular movement but once the Metro work begins, even God would find it tough to resolve the issue, warn residents.
Kanakapura Road has another religious structure that is now in the middle of the street. But this is not a case of encroachment. About 40 years back, when this temple came up, no one would have thought the City would invade it.
The city in charge minister R Ashoka says that the temple will be removed to a safe place. However, the search so far has not yielded any result. The parties involved and devotees have their own cases to maintain status-quo, although the City’s growing needs warrant the temple’s removal.
Radha Krishna, a regular user of this road, has been emotionally attached to the temple. He is used to visiting the place since his childhood. Yet, in the larger public interest, he would not like to put any hindrance to the government’s plans to shift it to a safer place. But he insists that the new temple should be an absolute replica of the existing one.
Another temple on this stretch is that of Goddess Banashankari. Thirty-five years ago, it was on the outskirts of the city but as Bangalore expanded, the temple fell right in the middle of the cosmopolis. The BBMP now wants to widen the road near the temple, but due to the temple management’s resistance, the plan is stalled.
The temple management says it is not on the wrong side. The Palike too admits that the management has enough documents to assert its claims over the boundaries. Yet, in the larger public interest, BBMP prefers the temple part with a portion of the land.
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