Conservation of heritage gate might see gridlock at T-junction near Government Guest House persist

Mysuru: Keen on ensuring that the city’s history does not become a casualty to its tryst with progress, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has started work on preserving the arched gate to the Government Guest House. Interestingly, restoration of one of the arches of the structure had attracted ire from conservationists and historians.
Roads leading to the T-junction near the two-century old heritage structure are being widened to reduce traffic congestion, and once broadened; the roads will run very close to the gate of the guest house. In a bid to ensure that the project aimed at easing traffic movement in a congested junction does not chip away at another slice of the city’s heritage. However, the question gnawing at the minds of citizens is if the MCC will succeed in preventing gridlock at the T-Junction.
The arched gate to the Government Guest House is the third-of-its-kind to be protected for posterity, saving these tangible vestiges of Mysuru’s past from slipping into oblivion. The first heritage gate that the authorities successfully protected from damage was the one close to the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Suburban Bus Stand, while the second was the gate behind the DC’s office. Most of these structures hark back to those days when Mysuru was under the dominion of the maharajas.
The gate close to the KSRTC Bus Stand was the first to be conserved by the authorities. A decade ago, the gate was fenced with iron railing to protect it from any further damage. In order to ensure its survival, the authorities barred the flow of traffic close to the gate.
Unfortunately, lack of a scientific plan to conserve the gate near the DC Office has failed to solve the problem of traffic congestion.
Retired traffic cop Shankregowda fears that the situation at the T-Junction near the Government Guest House might not be dissimilar to the one near the DC Office. “Such development projects must address the problems they are going to solve, else it is just a waste of money. Going by the amount of work that has been completed thus far, I can state that the T-junction will continue to witness gridlock even after the road has been widened entirely. What is the point of undertaking such a project?” asked the retired cop.
Shankregowda argued that widening the road near the Government Guest House would solve no problem if the stretch from Five Light Circle to Bishop House was not widened.
Mysuru city police confirmed to TOI that they had not been consulted about the ongoing road-widening project. City police commissioner KT Balakrishna said, “MCC hasn’t sought any suggestions with addressing conflict points at the junction from us. We hope the MCC involves us during ensuing discussions on the issue.”
An engineer in the MCC said that the plan devised to preserve the heritage gate had imposed restrictions on their original intention to ease vehicular movement.
MCC executive engineer Mahesh said that, in all, the 410m-stretch of Abba Road between Five Light Circle and SP Office Circle was being widened. “It is a Rs 4 crore project. We have widened 178m of the stretch already. Work on the reminder of the stretch will be completed once land from the Karnataka Police Academy is acquired,” said Mahesh. The stretch between Five Lights Circle and Bishop House would have to be helmed by the public works department.