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| The Varsity Union bldg. Mysuru. starofmysore.com |
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| The Varsity Union bldg. Mysuru. starofmysore.com |
The persistent complaint that the erstwhile royal city of Mysuru is in dismal situation as it will be losing its prestigious tag as a ‘Heritage City soon because many heritage structures stand neglected is an unfortunate piece of news. In the last several years historians and heritage lovers have been crying hoarse about them, but one by one the buildings have fallen into a roaster of neglected structures' facing doom. Included in this list is the Maharaja’s College Union Building that was built in 1920 (College union wa formed in 1915). Nearing century, Varsity Union building since 2019 has been in a poor state and so far there has been no response whatsoever either from the government or from the city office.
Prolonged negligence, lack of periodic repairs and retape have impacted the building whose walls look shabby with plaster peeling off in many places. Fallen into disuse, the overgrowth of vegetation and wild weeds on the ceilings, particularly all along the edges have promoted mechanical weathering. Root wedging and heavy vegetation have created vertical cracks down towards the arch. Here the wooden protection has become weakened. and the windows on the walls are broken and shaky. The weakened rook due to unchecked wild grass and vegetation takes in more water when it rains The seepage on the roof poses a major threat to the architecturally well-built old building on the campus.
The Union Building during the 1950 and 1960s played no less role than other buildings. Right from its inception, it had been a center of activities in which the teachers and taught participated with interest and the mutual exchanges continued till the 1970s. part f the building is used by the Department of Journalism, the Electronics Digital Information Centre,and the Mysore University Employees’ Credit Co-operative Society, It is a paradox the building houses ,the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology.. I wish the teachers and the students had taken the plight of the occupants of the building to the higher authorities for some temporary remedy at first.
Writing about the The College Union of the Central college campus (the building came up 10 years later after Maharajah Collage Union building), Meera Iyer of INTACH mentioned : The college union soon became a focus for intellectual and cultural activity. It hosted debates and talks by several eminent speakers and became a training ground for future leaders of society. This was true of the College Union of the university.
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| Varsity Union building, Mysuru.starofmysore.com |
A sign board in front of the building in English and kannada says “Union Building” and notifies both in Kannada and English, “Mysore Heritage”ironically, the building is losing its heritage value as time goes by and happens right under the nose of students who use part of the building.
Will the Union Building face the same fate as Devaraja market and Lansdowne buildings that are facing slow death?
https://starofmysore.com/nearing-century-varsity-union-building-cries-for-attention/
