MCC’s proposal to name road in Mysuru after Siddaramaiah triggers debate

The stretch of KRS Road from Lakshmi Venkataramanaswamy temple to Outer Ring Road junction is proposed to be named as Siddaramaiah Arogya Marga.

A proposal by the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) council to name a stretch of KRS Road after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has evoked strong reactions.

The stretch of KRS Road from Lakshmi Venkataramanaswamy temple to Outer Ring Road junction is proposed to be named as Siddaramaiah Arogya Marga. This is because a slew of hospitals, including a trauma centre, Mysuru centre of the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Research, Super Specialty Hospital, have come up on the stretch, and funding for the stretch was sanctioned by Mr. Siddaramaiah during his previous tenure as the Chief Minister.

The MCC took the decision at its meeting on November 22, based on a suggestion by Chamaraja MLA Harish Gowda. The issue was placed before the Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru before being tabled in the council meeting. On December 13, the MCC issued a newspaper notification inviting objections from the public within 30 days from the publication of the notification.

The MCC’s decision has been criticised by Right To Information activist Snehamayi Krishna, who is the complainant in the case pertaining to alleged illegal allotment of sites to the Chief Minister’s wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and which is being probed by the Karnataka Lokayuka police.

Mr. Krishna said the decision is astonishing as Mr. Siddaramaiah has been named as A1 in the MUDA case, and the matter is also being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. “That being the case it is highly regrettable that the MCC seeks to name a historic road after the accused,” said Mr. Krishna. He vowed to file objections before the MCC and also fight against the move.

Chandraprakash, former professor of Institute of Development Studies, University of Mysore, said there is no need to rename the road, which is popularly known as KRS Road. Even the notification calling for objections refers to it as KRS Road.

A heritage activist said Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar established Princess Krishnajammanni Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases Hospital in 1921 in memory of his sister who succumbed to TB. A vast swathe of land – nearly 200 acres – was reserved to set up the hospital, which has treated lakhs of patients.