Mangaluru: The right to protest and express one’s opinions is a fundamental right in a democracy.
Ever since the Freedom Park came up in Bengaluru, protests and hunger strikes are being held there. Hence the heart of the city is not much affected.
In Mangaluru, however, things are different. For any morcha, protest or hunger strike, the entrance to the deputy commissioner’s office becomes the most favoured target.
Any gathering held there gets so much of limelight and publicity that every second day there is some assembly or other.
Most citizens feel that the idea of holding protests there is not to convey the message or serve the cause but to present a show of strength.
Those coming to the DC’s office complex and other establishments nearby on work are severely inconvenienced. With the intracity bus terminus being so close to the spot, traffic also is affected.
The citizens also feel that the organizeres reckon the success of their plan in terms of the traffic blocked or inconvenience caused to the public.
To avoid all such inconvenience, deputy commissioner A B Ibrahim has devised a plan to allot a space slightly away from this bottleneck, on the lines of Freedom park. He revealed the idea to the mediapersons who met him in Kadri park on Wednesday.
He said that four spots had been shortlisted and were visited in the presence of the police commissioner and the DCP earier on the day.
They are the space where the old canteen functioned inside the DC office complex, a small vacant space behind the cricket pavilion on Nehru maidan, the site next to the Government Employees’ union’s hall and the Tempo vehicle park on the rear side of Nehru maidan..
The final selection will be made within a week and a dedicated place like Freedom Park will be made available for protests and the like, according to him.