BENGALURU: Relief may be in sight for craftsmen of Pottery Town. Forced to get scattered all over Bengaluru in search of an alternative livelihood, after their land came under the planned Metro project, the potters may not have to leave the area after all.
The 16,800 sq.ft-land, which the potters have been living and working since 1974, belongs to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), and the agency had said they are violating rules and need to vacate the area. However, M G Ravindra, BBMP Joint Commissioner, Bangalore East, said, “We are not displacing them. We are just pushing them to one acre of the area as they have spread their business to two. Once the work is done, their initial two-acre work area will be restored to them.”
No concrete structure is being razed in the area, BBMP Project Special Commissioner Ravikumar Surpur said. “The potters will be allotted their space once the construction of the Metro line is done,” he added.
The 500-strong community, which settled here when the potters’ association, Kumbhara Kara Kushala Kaigharika Sahakara, was given a 30-year lease for about 30 families to establish shops, has been a worried lot over the last few months.
Potter G Rajshekhar (50) said, “We have lived on this small piece of land for decades. Three months ago, we were told that we need to vacate the land.”In April, almost 50 per cent of the area was marked by Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) for their dumpyard. A Metro official said on condition of anonymity, “We sought the potters’ assent to occupy 50 per cent of the land, covering the school ground and a few shops till the burning point. When Metro work starts, we will require space to store the construction material, hence the need for a dumpyard.”
Potters say they were told in the presence of Pulikeshinagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasmurthy, potters’ association president Nanjundappa, and association secretary Ananda at a Janaspandana programme that 30-50 per cent of the land will be acquired by BMRCL. They add that Ananda convinced a few potters on releasing the patch of land to BMRCL, and their signatures were taken on a letterhead and handed over to BMRCL.
Since then, they have held two protests urging Metro authorities to drop their plan. “The move came as a shock. I was born and brought up here. How can I see this getting converted into a dumpyard?” Rajendran (37) said.
The potters rely on four furnaces. If they are shifted out, installing another furnace point would be a challenge, said Chinnaraju (66), considered one of the finest potters around. “We have to seek permission from many departments if we have to re-establish the burning point,” he said.
After their plight came to light, Srinivasmurthy has been working on getting a stay on BMRCL’s planned demolition. He told CE, “I will attend a meeting on June 26 with BMRCL. I am also working to get a confirmation from them that the area will not be razed.”
Crafting a living in the city
Each family moulds over 70,000 chai kulhad (cups) every day, fetching each member about `2,000 daily.
Gottigere-Nagawara Metro line will be laid 60ft underground, through Shivajinagar-Cantonment-Pottery town-Venkateshpura-Arabic college-Nagawara.
Every year, over 3,000 foreigners visit Pottery Town for research and shopping.