K’taka renames Bangalore City University after Manmohan Singh; Bagepalli town renamed ‘Bhagyanagara’

Bengaluru: The Congress-led Karnataka government has announced a series of major policy decisions during a special Cabinet meeting held at Nandi Hills, including renaming Bangalore City University after former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, addressing the media, confirmed, “A proposal to rename the Bangalore City University as ‘Dr. Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University’ has been approved.”

Additionally, Bengaluru Rural district will be renamed as “Bengaluru North District,” and Bagepalli town will be renamed “Bhagyanagara,” he said.

The Cabinet also decided to form a subcommittee headed by Law Minister H.K. Patil to review progress and further action regarding illegal mining. “The committee has been directed to submit the report in a month,” the CM said.

Highlighting financial allocations, the Chief Minister said, “We have approved a total outlay of Rs 3,400 crore, including Rs 2,050 crore allocated exclusively for Bengaluru rural and urban districts.”

Regarding the Yettinahole Drinking Water Project, the revised estimate stands at Rs 23,251 crore, out of which Rs 17,147 crore has already been spent, he said.

"The project is primarily a drinking water supply initiative. Replenishing lakes is a secondary priority," the CM said.

Of the total 24.1 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water involved, 14 TMC is required for drinking water alone. Hence, the cabinet decided to complete the drinking water component first, he added.

“Within the next two years, we aim to supply drinking water to all the targeted districts and taluks,” the CM said.

"The project aims to provide drinking water to 75 lakh people across 9 districts. The matter was discussed, and a decision will be taken in the next cabinet meeting," CM Siddaramaiah stated.

It was decided to build residential schools for children of registered construction workers in every district, with a total allocation of Rs 1,125.25 crore, he said.

Two residential training centres will be built in Bengaluru at a cost of Rs 10 crore to train candidates from backwards communities for competitive exams like IAS, IPS, IRS, the Chief Minister said.

This special Cabinet session at Nandi Hills resulted in major decisions and project approvals aimed at boosting development in the region. The focus was particularly on improving drinking water access, education, irrigation, and healthcare infrastructure, he stated. IANS