Land grab? Church members protest against BMRCL plans

Bengaluru: Members of All Saints Church Congregation Welfare Association staged a protest at Vellara Junction urging Bangalore Metropolitan Rail Transport Corporation (BMRCL) to drop its plans to destroy the All Saints Church and sacred grove on Sunday.

The protestors alleged that, the metro authorities have chosen to use the sacred grove and all the remaining open space around the church to dump its tunneling equipment.

“Should they succeed, all that will be left would be the church looking like a sore thumb and a stranger in the middle of chaos of a Metro station,” they explained.

The worshippers cherished this was a living cultural and religious heritage of Bengaluru and Namma Metro's efforts to destroy the sacred grove was a direct threat to fundamental right to worship. We speak on behalf of entire community of worshippers, they underlined.

We are deeply distressed that such an attack on fundamental rights has been planned by BMRCL, and that too secretively. For at least two years now the entire congregation was kept in the dark and we were to learn about the scale of the impact, and its details, few months ago, the protestors rued.

Reverend P.K. Samuel, Bishop of the Church of South India Karnataka Central Diocese and the Church's Pastorate Committee has repeatedly appealed to BMRCL and other authorities of the state to drop the idea of damaging the church, but it has been ignored.

They alleged that BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth had written a letter to the Bishop threatening to take over the church property permanently, if they voluntarily refuse to part with the land.