Locals oppose Ganesha festival at College Grounds

The high court on Wednesday sought information from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) about the permission given for holding the 11-day Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava at the National College Grounds in Basavanagudi.

A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay S Oka and Mohammad Nawaz passed the ordered on a PIL petition filed by the Shankarapuram Residents' Welfare Association. The petitioners drew the judges' attention to an affidavit filed by the BBMP before the high court in 2017 that the historic venue shall not be rented for any non-academic events for more than five days in a row.

The residents also cited a previous violation of the affidavit: The Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sangha was given the ground for conducting Bengaluru Ganesh festival from September 2 to September 12. Pointing out the presence of five major hospitals and prominent educational institutions around the ground, the residents argued that permitting such a long festival there would inconvenience the public. They urged the court to order the BBMP to not permit such non-academic events.

After hearing the submissions, the court ordered the BBMP to submit all the details of the permission given for Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava and adjourned the matter until Thursday.