Brand Bengaluru being built on the foundation laid by Kempegowda: DyCM

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said on Friday that the vision for Brand Bengaluru is being built upon the foundation laid by Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, the city's founder. Speaking at the 516th Kempegowda Jayanti celebrations and award ceremony held at the BBMP’s Dr Rajkumar Auditorium on Friday, he urged citizens to join hands to create a stronger, greener, peaceful, and safer Bengaluru.

“Great personalities who have contributed to the city have been recognised and honoured today. Birth is accidental, and death is inevitable. What truly matters is what we do in between,” he said, after presenting the Kempegowda Awards to achievers from various fields. Hesaidth at Kempegowda’s farsighted vision included planning markets for all communities and sections of society.

“We are walking the path laid by him. Today, people from all over the world live in this city. We are honouring not only prominent citizens in arts, medicine, science and media, but also those who keep our city clean,” he said. The DyCM reiterated his government’s resolve to make Greater Bengaluru a reality. “Within a month, we will decide how many municipal corporations are needed.

What matters is not how long we remain in power, but what we do while we are,” he said. “Bengaluru belongs to people of all communities, and government officials are working to ensure that all residents are treated with dignity and respect,” he said. “We have received a mandate of 140 MLAs. We are working with sincerity.

A ?1 lakh crore blue print has been drawn for the city’s development—?37,000 crore for tunnel roads, ?17,000 crore for flyovers, and ?15,000 crore for cleanliness. We are also planning a Sky Deck to promote tourism,” he revealed. Though we initially chose the Jnana Bharathi campus, the project needs approval from airport authorities due to air traffic concerns.

The site must be at least 20 km from the airport. We are exploring metro-accessible locations and are in talks with the BDA,” he said. “Love from people cannot be bought in markets. It resides in their hearts. Our work must be visible to them. It is better to be called useful than a yogi. Even if the media criticises us, we accept it gracefully and continue our work,” Shivakumar said.

Congratulating the 50 awardees, he said many others deserved the honour, but he had limited the awards to 50. “I could see the joy in their faces. May they always smile. We will never forget their service,” he added.