The Sooter Hostel building on the premises of Gokarnanatheshwara College at Mannagudda has been demolished, reducing a century-old heritage structure to rubble, Daijiworld reported on 10 November 2026.
Built during the British era, the hostel had stopped functioning in the 1970s. It was constructed in 1926 in the name of Sooter to shelter hundreds of Billava youths who came to Mangaluru for education from Kundapur to Kasargod and Beltangady.
The demolition marks the end of a building that served generations of students from across the coastal region, many of whom came to the city with little else but the chance of an education.
A hostel for students from across the coast
The hostel was built to shelter hundreds of Billava youths who travelled to Mangaluru for their studies. They came from Kundapur in the north to Kasargod in the south, and from Beltangady inland.
For many of those students, the hostel was their home in the city. It gave them a place to stay while they studied, at a time when such support made the difference between getting an education and going without one.
The building stood on the premises of Gokarnanatheshwara College at Mannagudda, in the heart of Mangaluru. Its long history made it a familiar landmark for the community around it.
Closed since the 1970s
The hostel stopped functioning in the 1970s, and the building had stood unused for decades. Even so, its demolition has removed a physical link to the educational history of the Billava community in the region.
The building was constructed in 1926, during the British era, and stood for nearly a century before it was brought down.
The report does not say what will come up on the site. For now, the place where the hostel stood is rubble, and a piece of Mangaluru's educational heritage is gone.
The story of the Sooter Hostel is a reminder of how the city grew as a centre of education for the whole coastal region, drawing students from far beyond its own limits.
