TUMAKURU: Pro-Hindu organisations here raised the issue of a private construction company building a mall under PPP model, at the erstwhile Siddhi Vinayaka Market in the heart of the city. The mall will come up on government land, and a Ganesha temple standing here is being razed.
Led by GK Srinivas of the RSS and Manju Bhargav of Bajrang Dal, vendors staged protests, demanding that the temple be left intact, and vendors be accommodated in shops in the new mall.
RS Construction from Mangaluru, owned by PK Mohammed, MA Nazeer and Mohammed Ibrahim, won the bid to construct the mall. The previous BJP government had stalled the project, but the Congress government gave the go-ahead, alleged pro-Hindu organisations.
“Contractors of RS Construction won the bid legally to take up the project under the Smart City project in 2019. The land belongs to the city corporation and APMC, and the profit will be shared between the two government agencies. There was a provision for construction of the temple as part of the project,” Tumakuru City Corporation Commissioner Ashwija BV said. The project will be implemented on the PPP model, and the company has entered into an agreement for a 30-year lease.