The Mysuru district heritage committee's decision to submit a proposal to the Karnataka High Court recommending the demolition of the heritage market in the city and the Landsowne building has resulted in stiff opposition from the tenants managing shops in the market and the Mysuru Wodeyar family.  On Wednesday, the Wodeyar family's Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wodeyar, took to the streets along with the tenants of the Devaraja Market building to support the conservation of the market, considered a heritage building in Mysuru.

Yaduveer is the 27th head of the ruling family of the erstwhile princely state of Mysore. The family's matriarch Pramoda Devi Wodeyar, also backed the efforts to conserve the building. "There are differing viewpoints about what can be done for the market, but I feel it has not reached a stage where we need to demolish it and pull it down. The people of Mysuru have a bond with the market," Pramoda Devi Wodeyar said. "We have renovated the Jaganmohan Palace art gallery and we are restoring the Rajendra Vilas Palace atop Chamundi Hill. The Wodeyar foundation is ready to take up the works for restoration of the market area too," she added.

The market, spread across an area of 3.67 acres, where shopkeepers sell fruits, flowers, spices and silks, was established in 1886. Currently, it houses 820 shops and 250 stalls selling items for daily use, Devaraja Market Tenants’ Association President Pailwan Mahadev told TNM. "We are in favour of preserving the existing building as it is in good condition," Mahadev said. Built in the Indo-Saracenic style used by British architects in India, the building is considered to be of architectural importance, Mahadev added.

The Mysuru district heritage committee's decision came after a resolution passed by councillors in the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) to demolish the structure and rebuild it in the same spot. The resolution was passed after discussions over the heritage structure. In 2016, the north entrance gate collapsed due to structural weakness. The Landsowne building had collapsed in 2012 when construction work on the building was ongoing. This incident claimed the lives of four people and led to the closure of the building and fast tracked proposals for demolishing the structure.