The Karnataka govt's decision to not extend the Bangalore Turf Club's lease might be warning bell for city's green lung

In an unprecedented move, the Karnataka government recently refused to extend the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) lease beyond December 2009 and has ordered the racing body to shift out of the prime racecourse grounds in Bengaluru, to an alternate venue.

Reports are filtering in that Chikkajala, on the highway en route to the Bengaluru international airport, has been chosen. This could lead to alarm bells in Mumbai.

"The club and citizens need to be watchful of any attempt to usurp our property," says RWITC media chairman Vivek Jain about the Mahalakshmi Race Course (below, pic by Anil Naik). (Above) the Bangalore Turf Club that has been ordered to shift out (pic by Vinod Kumar T)u00a0

Several politicians have,u00a0 in the past, suggested that the prime Mahalakshmi Race Course land be put to 'alternate' use and racing in Mumbai be shifted to the outskirts. The Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC), which controls racing in the city, has a lease agreement with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which expires in 2013.

Psychological setback

Mumbai feels that there is little cause for alarm of a similar situation in the city, though. Adil Gandhy of the Amateur Riders Club, (ARC), says, "It is a little scary to think that the same thing could happen to us over here.
Yet, four years down the line when the lease expires, who knows who will be in power? Psychologically, the BTC's decision is a setback."

P V Shetty, chairman of the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) says, "Our lease had expired, Mumbai still has a way to go it expires in 2013. Besides, I don't think the government there is as serious about taking over the racecourse as it was over here." He adds, "The Mumbai racecourse is a lung for the city. Even though it is in the heart of South Mumbai, it is still a little away from the main road." Shetty says the Karnataka government had been eyeing the Bangalore racecourse for more than two decades now, with the racecourse being systematically 'pruned' by authorities who took away land for de-congesting traffic. "We have 68 acres which may be 1/3 the size of Mumbai and other centres," says Shetty.