TUMAKURU/BENGALURU: After Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar managed to get his home district Ramanagara renamed as Bengaluru South, it is now the turn of his cabinet colleague, Dr G Parameshwara, the Karnataka Home Minister, to pitch for the renaming of his home turf Tumakuru as Bengaluru North.
“Bengaluru city, which is growing rapidly, may expand to neighbouring Tumakuru, Ramanagara, Kolar, and Chikkaballapur. In such a situation, it is apt to rename Tumakuru as Bengaluru North. To the people in New York, Bengaluru North will be more appealing... they can recognise it easily. Otherwise, they will feel that Tumakuru is somewhere else,” said Dr Parameshwara, adding that a proposal has been put forth before the government.
Defending the idea, Dr Parameshwara said that Bengaluru city has already seen growth beyond Nelamangala, which is 30 km from Tumakuru. “Therefore, it would be beneficial to expand the city’s scope. A proposal has already been prepared to include 14 gram panchayats in Tumakuru rural under the jurisdiction of the city corporation,” the home minister said.
Meanwhile, Industries Minister MB Patil said that a feasibility study is required to rename Tumakuru as Bengaluru North.
The BJP, which opposed the renaming of Ramanagara, has also lashed out at Dr Parameshwara’s proposal. Senior BJP leader and MLC CT Ravi said that the idea of renaming Tumakuru as Bengaluru North has been pushed because of the failure to give Tumakuru its own identity.
Dr Parameshwara had also proposed the expansion of Metro from Bengaluru to Tumakuru, following which a feasibility study was submitted to BMRCL, which in turn forwarded it to the government. The BJP had opposed the project, calling it unfeasible.
The Karnataka cabinet on May 22 decided to rename Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South, and the government formally issued a notification the next day. Ramanagara is the home district of DK Shivakumar, who is also state Congress chief.
