The Mysuru mill that Gandhi once visited now razed for road widening

Mysuru’s historical Krishna Rajendra Mills, which went down in history because of a visit by Mahatma Gandhi in the year 1927, was razed down by the authorities to make way for Mysuru-Bengaluru eight-lane highway yesterday. The building, which was approximately 100 years old, was constructed by

ML Vardhamanayya

and will now be a thing of past.

KR mills should have been protected: Historians
Expressing anguish over the demolition of this historical building, NS Rangaraju, a member of the heritage committee, says, “In the name of road widening, we have lost several heritage structures on Irwin road. We have now lost the K R Mills building, which was until now, one of the oldest textile mills in Mysuru. Just a few years back, the building was purchased by a Mumbai-based businessman who started a new venture in the same building. It is sad that we are losing heritage structures one after the other.”
“We call Mysuru as the heritage city, but are we serious about in protecting these buildings? KR Mills is the latest to go. Heritage buildings like Devaraja Market and Lansdowne buildings are in dilapidated stage. There could soon be a time when we may not have any heritage buildings left to be able to call Mysuru a heritage city. The authorities should have at least tried to relocate it,” says actor

Poornachandra Mysore

.

Textile and khadi brought Gandhi to KR Mills…
According to historian Ecchanuru Kumar, “Mahatma Gandhi had visited K R Mills to understand the textile industry in the south. To mark his visit, the owners back then had got a painting of Gandhi done on the wall of the building. During his visit, Gandhi stayed at Diwan Seshadri’s Iyer’s house in Mysuru. He once again visited Mysuru in 1932, when he visited Badavanalu village near Nanjangud, which was known for Khadi production.”

Mysuru University does its bit to preserve history
Today, the Manasaganthori campus of the Mysuru University is home to a

museum

dedicated to Mahatama Gandhi and commemorates his visits here. This museum is considered as South India’s first replica of Sabarmati Ashram which houses memorabilias like Gandhi’s spinning wheel, spectacles, sandals and over 100 photographs of Gandhi that depict various crucial events of his life.


Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.