Panel to decide on renaming of Light House Hill Road

 With no parties arriving on a consensus, the district administration on Friday decided to form a committee to vet the claims over renaming of the Light House Hill Road that has stirred a hornet’s nest.

St Aloysius College authorities have been vocifreously opposing the plan of Vijaya Bank Workers’ Organisation to name the road after their former chairman Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty against ‘St Aloysius College Road’.

Deputy Commissioner Dr K G Jagadeesha said that the committee includes additional deputy commissioner representing district administration, MCC commissioner, registrar and professor in history from Mangaluru University. They will vet the various documents related to different  claims that have emerged in the recent past, the deputy commissioner said in the presence of district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai who presided over the meeting.

Resolution by fans

Mulki Karunakara Shetty and others, representing the bank, reminded the minister of a resolution taken during the recent convention of Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty Fans’ Association at Town Hall, to impress upon the authorities to name the stretch of Light House Hill Road from Catholic Club Junction to Dr B R Ambedkar Circle (Jyoti Circle) after Shetty.

He insisted the authorities to abide by the ruling of MCC council, as the representatives of the organisation had run from pillar to post without seeking help of any netas to name any road in the city after Shetty.

Any road

Karunakara Shetty also clarified the authorities that they had requested MCC to name any road in the city after Shetty.

When the MCC itself suggested a stretch of Light House Hill Road and also validated the decision with its resolution after fulfiling due procedures, it’s impossible to go back on the same, he said.

St Aloysius’ claim

St Aloysius College Registrar Prof A M Narahari, quoting the documents in his possession, claimed that the municipality, headed by Blasius M D’Souza, had named the stretch of road after St Aloysius College way back in 1976. It is also evident with the stone engraved plaque on the compound of a building on the same stretch of road, the genuinity of which can be checked.

Most importantly, the document of Mangalore Catholic Cooperative Bank Limited with its address bearing ‘St Aloysius College Road’ sums it all, added Narahari seeking time to produce more documents in support of his claims.

 Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Jeevan Saldanha suggested to name the stretch of road between Jyoti and Bunts Hostel Circle, as the headquarters of Vijaya Bank existed near the hostel junction earlier. The trade and commerce is already affected over such issues, he bemoaned.

Eidgah Road

Meanwhile, fomer mayor K Ashraf, president of United Muslim Organisation, demanded to name the Light House Hill Road as Eidgah Road considering the historical significance of Eidgah located on the same stretch, that dates back to 250 years ago, older than Aloysius.

Another prominent citizen voiced for naming it as ‘Baavutagudde’ as a due honour for the martyrs who lost their lives in their struggle for independence during 1837. A memorial should also be set up, he demanded.

MCC ‘blamed’ for mess

Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment B Ramanath Rai on Friday said that Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) should be careful while dealing with sensitive issues.

This follows a volley of allegations levelled by the representatives of various organisations, who held the callous attitude of MCC officials for the simmering issue that has cropped up over the decision to rename the stretch of Light House Hill Road after Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty. Sumit Rao, an industrialist and alumni of St Aloysius College, held MCC responsible for the controversy surrounding the issue. Karunakara Shetty, who stopped short of blaming MCC for the mess, however said, they had asked for naming any stretch of road or park after Sunder Ram Shetty, as decided during the centenary birth anniversary celebrations of the latter who as a chairman of Vijaya Bank gave job to many.