Tick talk

A defunct watch company owned the land that is now the subject of the grand Iskon-vs-politician controversy. MiD DAY digs up the past to bring you startling details about the property

A defunct watch company owned the land that is now the subject of the grand Iskon-vs-politician controversy. MiD DAY digs up the past to bring you startling details about the property

The land at the centre of the Iskcon row once belonged to a discredited watch company.

Hegde & Goley, a watch company that took on the government-run HMT watch factory in 1970s, was in possession of the land till the mid-1990s.

Shankar Hegde, who had acquired the land from Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), wound up the company in the 1980s after years of defaulting on loan repayments.

Karnataka State Finance Corporation (KSFC), which had loaned the company about Rs 5 crore, confiscated the property.

When the land fell vacant, Congress working president D Ku00a0 Shivakumar and Shankar Hegde's daughter Rashmi Gopi-Hegde reportedly tried to arrive at some arrangement to keep the land among themselves. Interestingly, Shankara Foundation, run by Rashmi, works from land that was part of the property of Hegde & Goley. Rashmi is a dancer.

Out of 40 acres the KIADB granted, the company had used 27 for the industry and set aside the rest for roads.
When KSFC decided to confiscate the property, it could not do anything to seize land allocated for infrastructure.

When it looked like he couldn't acquire the land, Shivakumar, a powerful minister in S M Krishna's cabinet, allegedly threatened the foundation the government would act. "He tried to grab the property saying it was attached to the KSFC," said a source. "But other ministers helped the foundation."

KURUKSHETRA: Iskon temple in Bangalore. The trust running it is at loggerheads with politician D K Shivakumar (top left).

Go get it

When the land came up for auction in 2004, Shivakumar was a front-runner. He was disappointed when Iskcon outbid him and bagged the land.

"Shivakumar is a life member of Iskcon," said the source. "He was coveting the land and asked them to give it up."

When Iskcon refused, he decided to take the fight to the Karnataka assembly.

Rashmi, who was away in Delhi, said, "I will speak to you after July 31 when I am back in Bangalore."

Shankara Foundation
Shankara Foundation, set up on two-and-a-half acres on Kanakapura Road, is a centre for artistes, artisans and art lovers. It also houses a cafu00e9 called Nakshatra where Indian food is served.