The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) will launch a campaign to stop the demolition of 18 markets in the city. Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike had decided to raze the markets to make way for new structures in their place.
Co-convenor Meera Iyer said that INTACH Bangalore along with like-minded groups and individuals has launched a campaign against the BBMP’s decision, which is a threat to the city’s heritage.
Though people at some of the identified markets said they get no customers, it still did not justify replacing them with malls. INTACH could help revitalise the markets and make them more economically viable, Ms. Iyer added.
Bengaluru is one of the 14 heritage cities in the State, but it appears that BBMP does not take its role as a guardian of the city’s heritage seriously. Rather than destroying these markets, BBMP could involve urban, conservation and heritage experts such as INTACH to help revitalise the existing markets. The government must consider the heritage value of these old structures before deciding to replace them with malls, she suggested.
INTACH has created a forum called The Bengaluru Heritage Markets Campaign page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bengaluruheritagemarkets), of which the Facebook group, Bygone Bangalore, is also a part.
