Heritage meat market in heart of Bengaluru faces axe

A century-old building housing 20 meat shops near the KR Market in the heart of Bengaluru is set to be demolished to make way for a development project under the Smart Cities Mission.

Believed to have been constructed in 1921, the heritage structure has a frontage similar to that of the Devaraja Market and the Lansdowne Building in Mysuru. But over the years, it received scant attention from the authorities and fell into a state of neglect.

Things became worse after the Sirsi Circle flyover opened in 1999. The flyover has totally obscured the building's classic facade from the public eye.

Shopkeepers operating at the market say their grandfathers or great grandfathers had received the tenancy from none other than the Mysuru kings and claim to have documents dating back to at least the 1930s.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has now issued them eviction notices, saying the building will be demolished as per a redevelopment plan submitted by Bengaluru Smart City Limited (BenSCL) last year.

A source in BenSCL said the building would be demolished as part of a Rs 17-crore project to develop the area and that present tenants would be accommodated in temporary shops.

Arun Kumar T G, one of the tenants, said the building was constructed by the Mysuru kings and was considered a heritage structure. "We have been doing business here for over 80 years now. The BBMP neither maintains the market nor has undertaken any repairs. Now, without making any efforts to save the building, they want to demolish it and throw us out," Kumar told DH.

Other shopkeepers fear the government cannot compensate them for losses resulting from their eviction.

BenSCL, which has taken up several works to pedestrianise the KR Market junction, hasn't disclosed the detailed plan for the development of the old meat market or its surrounding areas. An official merely said that the details had been mentioned in the tender document.

While the BBMP notice mentions a redevelopment project report submitted by the BenSCL engineers, Kumar said they were neither privy to such information nor were involved during the consultations.

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