CH NEWS, DHARWAD
Sri Rama Sene has lodged a formal complaint with the Dharwad Lokayukta police against Dr. Rudresh Ghali, Commissioner of the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC), over the alleged destruction of an ancient temple tank.
The controversy surrounds the heritage Pushkarani located on the premises of the historic Sri Bhavani Shankar Temple in Hubballi’s Asara Oni. Activists alleged that municipal authorities ruined the sacred water body by constructing roads and drainage channels over it without securing required approvals from the Archaeology Department. Leaders expressed deep outrage, stating that damaging the ancient site has hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. Holding the civic chief primarily responsible for the irreversible damage, the organization has sought an immediate corruption and vigilance probe against him.
The formal petition also accused the Commissioner of severe negligence and wasting public tax money. Following widespread anger over the civil works, massive public demonstrations took place, requiring the mobilization of nearly 1,500 police personnel for security arrangements. The complaint stated that the police department incurred expenditures running into crores of rupees solely to manage public unrest triggered by administrative mismanagement. Consequently, Sri Rama Sene has demanded that the state recover these immense security expenses directly from the Commissioner’s personal funds.
While pro-Hindu groups had previously directed their agitations primarily at local political leaders, the dispute has now escalated into an unyielding legal confrontation against the civic chief. The public and religious groups now await the next course of action from the Lokayukta police in this intensifying dispute.
