BENGALURU: The Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Study and Research Centre, planned as a tribute to the founder of Bengaluru, has become an example of neglect and stalled progress. Located at Jnanabharathi University campus, this Rs 100-crore project, intended to showcase Kempegowda’s legacy, now lies incomplete, with the site turning into an open defecation zone for residents and labourers working there.
Launched in 2016 with a Rs 100 crore budget, the study centre was planned to feature a museum, a 30-foot bronze statue of Kempegowda, an air-conditioned auditorium, and other facilities. Yet, nearly eight years later, the site stands incomplete.
The under-construction centre has become a sanitation nightmare. Students told TNIE that labourers and local residents around the area have been using it as a site for open defecation, turning it into a public health concern. Moreover, students lament that the crumbling university compound wall adds to the problem by allowing entry of people, making the area unsafe.
While the BBMP engineers claim the project resumed recently after years of stagnation, they also mention that it may still take at least two more years to finish.
The foundation for the project was laid in 2017 by the seer of Sri Adichunchanagiri Mutt, Nirmalanandanath Swami. It was also relaunched during Kempegowda’s 511th birth anniversary in 2021 by the then Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. Other similar projects, like the Dr BR Ambedkar School of Economics University and a girls hostel were launched around the same time and have been completed and are already operational.
A senior official from the Economics department of the university told TNIE that the lack of security at the campus due to broken walls in the university premises has also made it a hotspot for sandalwood theft, adding another layer of mismanagement. The study centre was intended to honour Kempegowda’s contributions to Bengaluru with a state-of-the-art facility celebrating his vision and achievements. Instead, it has become a symbol of neglect and unfulfilled promises, the official lamented.