Ramanagara is preparing to host Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday for the inauguration of several civic projects, including a clock tower, a municipal auditorium and a 37-shop food street, along with the unveiling of a Kempegowda statue and distribution of welfare benefits.
The visit is Shivakumar’s first to the district headquarters after becoming chief minister, according to the report by Prajavani. The programme has prompted municipal preparations along key roads, including B.M. Road and Junior College Road, where welcome arches, cut-outs, lighting and Kannada flags have been installed.
A 35-foot cut-out has been placed near Anjaneya Tower and the SP Office Circle. Decorative lighting has been arranged along the route between Junior College Road and Water Tank Circle, where the main public programme will be held. Seating has been arranged across the event ground, alongside a large stage.
Municipal workers have also undertaken road and streetscape work ahead of the visit. Potholes on the road from Junior College Road to the municipality have been repaired with asphalt, while the footpath around the Clock Tower area has been developed. Dry branches along the route have been trimmed.
The chief minister is scheduled to arrive in the city at 5pm and visit the building of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences near Archakarahalli. He is then expected to travel to the municipal office to unveil the Kempegowda statue before inaugurating the auditorium, Clock Tower and food street and attending the public programme.
The new Kempegowda statue will join statues of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Jagajyoti Basaveshwara already installed in the municipal office complex. The D. Devaraj Urs auditorium has been constructed on the second floor of the municipal building.
The Clock Tower has been built at Water Tank Circle, where Junior College Road, Railway Station Road and the road near Sriram Talkies meet. The project cost is approximately ₹49.99 lakh, according to the report.
The food street has been developed opposite the Unilet showroom at Gandhinagar Circle on B.M. Road. Built using ₹80 lakh from municipal funds, it has 37 shops and is intended to bring different food businesses together in one location.
The programme will also include the distribution of ₹4 lakh free life-insurance bonds to 11,800 residents. Uniforms will be distributed to auto-rickshaw drivers and sanitation workers, while tool kits will be provided to Medar, tailor, Ganiga, Vishwakarma, nomadic and bar-bender workers. Women’s self-help groups will receive notebooks and trunks, and tea-stall operators will receive steamers.
The municipal council will also present the Kengal Hanumanthaiah Awards to 25 people from fields including folk arts, journalism, education, music, theatre, culture, hospitality, law, literature, social service, sport, medicine, art, religion and public service as part of the Kannada Rajyotsava programme.
District in-charge minister H.C. Balakrishna, Medical Education Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil, Urban Development Minister Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah and other elected representatives are expected to attend the event. The scheduled inaugurations and public programme will mark the next stage of the municipality’s civic works and benefit-distribution activities.
