BELAGAVI: The Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi becomes a ghost house once the winter session is over, said an advocate in a letter to the Chairman of the Legislative Council on Thursday, requesting him that the “white elephant” be rented out for celebrating his daughter’s birthday.
For the ongoing winter session, the government is spending Rs 37 crore. Mallikarjun Choukashi, an advocate from Gokak taluk, stated, “My daughter completes five years and will be ready to take admission in Class 1. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime moment for her. I request you to allow me to celebrate the event at the Soudha.’’
The government has also shown reluctance in shifting some state-level offices to the Soudha in Belagavi from Bengaluru even after leaders and organisations have been demanding it for years. Since 2006, winter sessions are being held in Soudha. The amount spent on sessions so far are: Rs 8 crore in 2013, Rs 14 crore (2014), Rs 13 crore (2015), Rs 16 crore (2016), Rs 31 crore (2017), Rs 13.85 crore (2018), and Rs 32 crore (in 2021).