Green paint on Kalaburagi railway station sparks row

The station was later repainted, in white this time, after pro-Hindu groups claimed it looked like a mosque

Bengaluru, Dec 13: After the row over the multiple 'mosque-like' domes on the bus stops in Mysuru, a similar controversy erupted in Kalaburagi district of Karnataka. However, it was resolved due to the quick action of the authorities concerned.

Going by the reports, a coat of green paint on the walls of Kalaburagi railway station evoked protests from several pro-Hindu groups in the area. Members of Hindu Jagruti Sene claimed that the railway station looked like a mosque and hence demanded immediate removal of the green paint. Incensed over it, several right-wing groups also staged a protest in Kalaburagi against the railway officials this morning.

As pressure mounted, the Kalaburagi railway officials repainted the station in white later in the day in the presence of police personnel. This has somehow pacified the agitators and the situation in the city limped back to normalcy.

Dome-like structures atop Mysuru bus stops replaced with Kalash: Earlier, a similar controversy had erupted in Mysuru which had led to a fracas between Mysuru-Kodagu BJP MP Pratap Simha and party MLA S.A. Ramdas. The contention of the activists and the MP was that with the three domes, one big dome at the centre and two smaller ones alongside, the bus stops wore a look that of a mosque.

Simha had said a few days back that he had seen it on social media. The bus stand has three domes, a big one in the middle and two small ones beside it. That is a Masjid only, he added. He said that the Gumbaz model bus shelters were being constructed in most parts of Mysuru. "I have told the engineers to demolish the structure in three to four days. If they do not I will take a JCB myself and demolish it," the BJP MP had said.

Reacting to the controversy over the bus shelters in his constituency, Krishnaraja MLA Ramdas clarified that the bus stop was constructed in resemblance to the Mysore Palace. In order to showcase the historical and cultural significance of Mysuru, the bus stops are being constructed in resemblance to the Mysore Palace in several places in the constituency with different designs, facilitated by the minister's fund.

Meanwhile, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has written to the Commissioner of Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) asking them to demolish the bus shelters. In a notice dated November 15, the NHAI gave a 3-day deadline to demolish the shelters. "If the competent authorities fail to take action, NHAI will do it as per the Highway Administration Act 2003," the notice read.

The authorities swung into action and replaced the domes with 'kalash' (sacred pots) on the domes overnight.