102-year-old Band House building preserved, thanks to city police

Mysuru: Amid a raging debate over the fate of iconic structures that dot Mysuru’s historic cityscape, police personnel in the Heritage City are doing more than a little to preserve, albeit in slices, the past. Mysuru city police, with financial aid from Bank Note Paper Mill Ltd (BNPM), which has disbursed funds under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, are preserving the iconic Band House, which is among the many historic structures in the heart of the city.
Band House, constructed in 1920, was, as the name indicates, was used to shelter musicians who performed for the members of the royal family at the Mysore Palace.
The musicians were mostly summoned to the palace when high-ranking British officials visited the city. The structure on Mirza Road in Nazarbad, was subsequently handed over to Mysuru city police, who used it to house members of the Mysore Police Band. In the mid-1990s, when Kempaiah served as the commissioner, the structure became the official headquarters of Mysuru city police, and it continued to be used for that purpose until recently, when the headquarters was shifted to a newly-constructed building in the neighbourhood.
The Karnataka department of archaeology, museums and heritage has entered into an agreement with BNPM to preserve the 102-year-old historic structure. Satheesh, junior engineer with the heritage department, estimates that renovation of the structure could take up to nine months. “We will need to provide additional support for the ceiling, to prevent leakage. We will procure roofing tiles from Mangaluru,” Satheesh said.
Interestingly, the Band House is not the first historic structure that is getting a fresh lease of life owing to the proactive intervention by Mysuru city police.
Cops in the city acted in time to preserve the heritage structures housing the Lakshmipuram and Krishnaraja traffic police stations on JLB Road. Ridge House, the official residence of the Mysuru city police commissioner in Gayathripuram, stands tall, as a testament to the proactive efforts of the cops in preserving the past.