Mysuru: A bus stop here was revamped after BJP MP Pratap Simha objected that it looked like a mosque with three domes on its top. Two of the three domes installed on this controversial bus stop on the Mysuru-Nanjhangudu main road were cleared on Saturday night. The three domes on the top painted in golden are now reduced to just one dome painted in red.
Pointing that the structure looks like a mosque, Simha had earlier threatened to 'demolish the bus stop with a JCB himself' if it is not rectified in 3-4 days. After the issue got mired in controversy, the central government intervened. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on November 17 issued a notice to the Mysore Municipal Corporation for the removal of the bus stop. They had given a week’s time to remove the structure.
BJP MLA S.A. Ramadas -- under whose regime the bus stop was constructed -- though initially denied any of his party members having made such comments, complied with Simha's demands later. He initially claimed that the bus stop design depicted the Mysuru Palace. However, he later said that the two domes were removed 'to avoid dispute'.
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"The dome model towers have been cleared so that the bus shelter does not become a disputed center. 12 other bus shelters will be constructed in this model. It was my intention to build a Mysuru palace model for passengers. I am sorry to involve religion in this, but I have taken this decision from a development point of view after discussing it with seniors and advisors. No one should think otherwise," MLA S.A. Ramadas said in a press release.
MP Pratap Simha, reacting to the compliance of his demands, said in a tweet on Sunday, "If there is a big dome in the middle and two smaller domes next to each other, it is considered a mosque. Thanks to the District Collector who asked for some time to rectify this and kept his word, and to Ramdas ji, who understood the reality and bowed to the referendum." Simha also tweeted three pictures of the bus stop.
