Mangaluru: The police, on Thursday, removed a flex banner demanding the renaming of the Lady Hill Circle to Brahmashree Narayana Guru Circle, hours after it was erected by a saffron group. A video of the group dancing in front of the flex banner had gone viral on social media, after which the police took action.

It can be recalled that the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) had decided, on 22 September, to postpone the proposal to rename the Lady Hill Circle as Sri Narayana Guru Circle to the next Council session in October. As with the case of the renaming of the St Aloysius College Road, the proposal to rename the Lady Hill Circle was objected to by the Lady Hill school management, students and the general public. However, supporters of the proposal have been creating trouble by putting up a banner inside the circle and fixing stickers bearing the name ‘Shree Narayana Guru’, making the issue more chaotic.

Despite the opposition, some believe that it is likely that the Lady Hill Circle will be officially renamed during the Mangaluru Dasara festival at Kudroli Sri Gokarnanatha Temple, scheduled to be held from 17 October. The Kudroli temple was consecrated by Sri Narayana Guru in 1912, and the Lady Hill Circle is an entry point to the Kudroli temple from the northern side of the city.