There has been an agitation by certain politicians to shift the Mysore Race Club (MRC); the reasons given for it are not worthy of a sustained agitation. These protestors want the Race Course shifted because according to them it is a “wasted space” used by gamblers, that no ordinary person can become its member and that the horse dung is polluting the nearby area.

To begin with, it is my duty to inform my readers that I am a member of the Mysore Race Club. It is indeed very irresponsible of Mysore Race Club’s administration to allow water loaded with horse dung to flow into the nearby area, that is, if it is true. However, the MRC administration has denied this allegation. But even if this allegation is true, does it merit the shifting of a landmark venue of this city, which is almost half – a - century old?

The solution to this problem is very simple. The MRC can set up two biogas plants which can use the horse dung as fuel. These biogas plants can use the energy produced to power the activities of the MRC. The suggestion of shifting the Race Club as a solution to the dung problem is akin to cutting off the nose just because one has a cold. The concerns of the few who think MRC is a “wasted space” and their objection that it does not allow ordinary people to become members are unfounded and born out of ignorance. The MRC, just like many Clubs in the country, has a democratic setup and hence is open to anyone applying for membership. And just like in any other Club, existing members vote and decide if the applicant is acceptable to be part of their Club.

I was not handed a membership because I am an extraordinary person, but like any ordinary person I stood for elections and lost once before being elected in my second attempt. Yes, just like any ordinary person can stand for election and become a Member of Parliament, any ordinary person can stand for the election and become an MRC member. It is as democratic as the Indian democracy. So, the statements by various leaders and their supporters that MRC must be shifted because ordinary people cannot become members, is wrong and amounts to misinforming the public about the MRC.

Going by the logic of these protestors, all Clubs in Mysore must be either shifted or closed. But if these protesting people say there is exclusivity to the Club, then may be they are right. The MRC is as exclusive as any other Club, be it Mysore Sports Club, Rotary Club of Mysore, Cosmopolitan Club etc. Each Club has its own limit on how many members it can take. At Race Club it is set to only 250 members and memberships open only if any existing member resigns or dies. This is done so it does not become like other Clubs, over-crowded, unserviceable and drenching in politics. In fact, MRC is better than the other Clubs because it allows any member of the public to walk in to the Race Course and enjoy the races. Now we ask, can any member of the public walk into any other club in Mysore city to enjoy their sporting event? No.

Now about the “wasted space” comment. Did the parties concerned about this issue not realise the existence of this “wasted space” as they call it for the past 42 years? How come they realised the existence of this beautiful piece of land only now, after the real estate prices have shot up? How come they see this “wasted space” only after Radisson Hotel came up next door and built a beautiful 150 - room hotel with a huge shopping mall and a cinema hall? The MRC has 153.29 acres of greenery that provides fantastic lung space for our city. Once the MRC is shifted and 153 acres of land is taken over by the government, does anyone have a doubt that this will not be sold to a few real estate giants? Or be encroached upon bit by bit over the future years by political cronies?

We all know how greedy our politicians are when it comes to real estate, from what we read daily in newspapers and see on TV. In fact, our CM B. S. Yeddyurappa has even placed newspaper ads to keep us abreast with the shady real estate dealings of his peers while H. D. Kumaraswamy has been doing the same every other day on his website. For now, the pro – MRC - shifters are saying they should make a botanical garden out of the MRC space, but then this area is already a green space. Instead, why don’t these people agitate against the non - commencement of 33 - acre botanical garden sanctioned and enclosed within a compound wall located just one km from MRC, opposite the Lalitha Mahal Palace, for which nearly Rs. One crore was spent five years ago?

Now let us talk finances. The MRC generates an annual turnover of Rs. 252 crore. Yes, people may not know this but MRC’s turnover is more than a well - run medium scale industry’s. It has given the government Rs. 12 crore by way of taxes this year alone. It employs more than 1,500 people directly and indirectly. In short, it is an institution and an industry that contributes both economically, environmentally and socially along with putting Mysore on the map. In fact, the turnover of Mysore Zoo including the Karanji Lake, to which one leader suggested that MRC land be given, is just Rs. 9 crore. The famed Brindavan Gardens has a turnover of Rs. 6 crore a year and the Mysore Palace, Rs. 5.51 crore. Thus MRC employs more people and pays the government more money than the city’s three major tourist attractions put together while also being “Green”.

Then the non - tangible benefits of MRC. During the Mysore Races, many horse owners and celebrities come to Mysore. It is an event that fills up hotel rooms and restaurants. It spurs up peripheral commercial activity in the city. Big industrialists such as Poonawalla, M. A. M. Ramaswamy and Vijay Mallya would have never come to Mysore if not for the MRC. These bigwigs came to our city, loved it and generously contributed to it. And thanks to that contribution, today the best eye hospital in Mysore district is run by the MRC.

The MRC Eye Hospital sees hundreds of patients every day and in the past 15 years has conducted 40,000 free eye surgeries. In fact, this hospital is far superior to the government hospital. How many private industries with higher turnovers can boast of such an efficient institution?

We beg to ask, is “shifting the Race Course” the only worthy cause to fight for now? Because if it is, then we would also like to suggest some worthy causes for our enthusiastic crusaders. Can the pro – MRC - shifters please sit in the middle of the now – dried - up Hebbal Lake and protest against its illegal allotment? Can they please sit for dharna in front of the City Corporation and ask why some roads are asphalted two times in a year? Can they also please ask KIADB to give land to legitimate industrialists so the economy of the city will improve? Can they please protest and make sure the government hospital is as efficient as MRC’s? Guess not. They are too busy wanting a botanical garden.

Finally one must realise there are certain structures in a city that help the city to develop as a brand. Mysore is seen as a Royal City, and the existence of a beautiful Race Track with the Chamundi Hill in the backdrop is one jewel in its crown. The only other place in the world where there is a hill view of a race track is in Hong Kong where tourists going up Victoria Hill are taken to a viewpoint to show the Race Course.

The fact is, MRC adds credence to Mysore’s branding as a Royal City. Mysore, after all, is a Royal City and not a Royal Botanical City to have acres and acres of botanical gardens every kilometre. MRC is green space, it is open to “ordinary people” to become members and the dung problem can be easily solved. To add, as mentioned earlier, it is a “non – profit” organisation that generates Rs. 252 crore per annum, pays Rs. 12 crore to the government, employs over 1,500 people and runs the best Eye Hospital in Mysore district. Is there really a credible argument to shift it? We don’t think so. Unless the protestors are working with a hidden agenda.

See what happened to Bangalore Race Course. It was to be shifted only to make space for two towers to be built by a Dubai builder. Thankfully, the Supreme Court has issued a stay and the High Court has said it should remain the lung space of Bangalore. Mysore Race Course too, once shifted, may slip into becoming the playground of two kinds of people: Sultans of concrete — builders and their support staff, the politicians. These people don’t even spare war widows. Do you think they will spare a land that is already in the government’s name?