Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bangalore (Agenzia Fides) – The Catholic Church in Karnataka, an important state in southern India, whose capital is Bangalore, is very concerned. As Agenzia Fides learns from local Church sources, the old leprosy clinic of Sumanahalli, run by the Catholic Church in northern Bangalore, is now at risk for forced closure by the local government. The leprosy clinic offers rehabilitation from leprosy, treatment for AIDS victims, and also opens its doors to victims of natural disasters.
The government in Karnataka, which is dominated by the Baratiya Janata Party, the Hindu Nationalist Party with its ideology that is prejudice towards religious minorities, has not renewed the rental contract on the property where the institution is located and which was granted to the Diocese of Bangalore in 1977.
The government affirms that its policy does not allow them to grant rental of state-owned property for over 30 years, which means the contract supposedly expired two years ago. Thirty years ago, the land was quite a ways away from the city of Bangalore, but today it is part of the now expanded metropolis. The land is now being prepared for a new mall, which will bring many more economic profits to the area.
Fr. George Kannathanam, Director of Sumanahalli, is doing all he can to avoid the closing of the center, however he is greatly concerned: “Already two years ago, the government asked us for part of the land, but leaving us the possibility of continuing our institution. Today, they want the entire property, and that would mean closing our doors. Hundreds of people feel at home at Sumanahalli. They rediscovered their dignity and have been cured here. You can just imagine the anxiety of the sick if they had to go elsewhere. Where would all the lepers of Sumanahalli go?”
Archbishop Bernardo Moras of Bangalore has also written an official letter to the government asking for the right to renew the contract, mentioning the great social service the center has performed in the last 30 years, without any state funding. The local Church does not exclude the possibility of taking the case to the national government.
“Don't take away our hope,” volunteers, religious, and patients of Sumanahalli say. The little sign in the entrance of the center says: “The village of the people with a good heart.” There are so many men and women of good will, of various religions, who want to continue living in this oasis of charity in the heart of Bangalore. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 26/10/2009)
