Mangaluru : The four places shortlisted by the district administration to recognise a permanent venue for protests are within the heart of the city.

A demand to shift the venue of protests – the entrance to the Deputy Commissioner’s office – was made at a peace committee meeting by people here on November 25. It was because organisations took out processions from Ambedkar Circle to the Deputy Commissioner’s office holding traffic. People demanded that a place be earmarked for holding protests in the city, like Freedom Park in Bengaluru, which is away from the heart of the city.

The demand to shift the venue was also because many speakers made provocative statements at protest meetings in front of the busy Deputy Commissioner’s office.

Such statements drew the attention of many and it gave scope for flaring communal feelings.

A.B. Ibrahim, Deputy Commissioner, said that he and the City Police Commissioner had identified four places. One among them would be finalised as the venue for protests within a week.

The venues are near tempo stand near service bus stand, near cricket pavilion area at Nehru Maidan, near taluk panchayat office and near the canteen inside Deputy Commissioner’s office premises.

To a question that people’s demand was to shift the venue from outside the busy Hampankatta area, Mr. Ibrahim said that holding protest was the right of the people. “It can’t be curbed completely by taking away from the centre of people,” he added.