Talk of a Constitution Club for MLAs seems to have resurfaced, this time with Carlton House in the eye of the storm. This is a worrying trend, really, because Bengaluru has some extraordinary heritage structures, which need to be preserved. When I talk of preservation, however, I don't just mean keeping the structure intact – it's about bringing these buildings and their history into the public space. What's the point, really, in making places like these post offices or police headquarters, where they are lost to the public? A philately museum instead of a post office would go a long way in making people aware of their heritage.
Buildings do need to be repurposed, but heritage structures should be kept for the citizens. The National Gallery of Modern Art, for instance, is a beautiful public property – that's the kind of initiative we need. Visitors to Bengaluru have nothing to see here, which is especially sad, when our glorious architectural heritage can be turned into something of lasting value.
The heritage act has been on hold for years, too and perhaps that comes from a deep-rooted suspicion of private involvement in public ventures. The VAG controversy is the most recent example of this. The popular conception of private players is that of them being thieves – but what do people of this stature have to gain by swindling a piece of government land? Janaagraha received nothing but brickbats when they began the TenderSure roads, which look so beautiful today.
We're our own worst enemies, really, because the process of change is stopped at every point. We only have ourselves to blame for this, because we like to wallow in the status quo as we continue to criticise it!
(The writer is CEO, B.PAC)
