With just a day left for the event to mark the 60th anniversary of the Vidhana Soudha, and President Ram Nath Kovind set to address the joint session, there appears to be a last-minute scramble to spruce up the grand building within the scaled down budget of ₹10 crore. With the President set to visit the first floor — comprising both the Houses — work is currently on to spruce up only this portion of the Vidhana Soudha. Workers are busy scrubbing the floors clean, while the offices of Speaker and Chairman of Assembly and Council are being decked up with flowers.
Following the public criticism over the plan to spend lavishly on the two-day event, the government asked the Legislature Secretariat to bring down the spending from ₹27.68 crore to ₹10 crore. Though it was earlier planned to celebrate the event for two days, October 25 and 26, now it will be held on Wednesday from morning to evening.
Officials of the Legislature Secretariat are, in fact, upset with the Public Works Department (PWD) for not renovating the Vidhana Soudha adequately. They say that ₹56 crore was sanctioned a year ago to spruce up the grand building, but not enough was done. “At the last minute, the PWD is offering cosmetic touches just to please dignitaries attending the historic event,” said a senior official in Legislature Secretariat.
Meanwhile, with the squeezing of two days of celebrations into one, the time frame for the programmes have also been curtailed, with the President’s address to both the Houses being the only big highlight in the morning.
That apart, the documentary on the Vidhana Soudha by Girish Kasaravalli, and another on the 136-year history of the Karnataka legislature (starting with 1881 when the Wadiyars ordered formation of the the Constituent Assembly) by T.N. Seetharam, and the Vidhana Soudha in 3D stereoscope by Master Kishen will be screened for dignitaries in the afternoon. “The Banquet Hall will be converted into a place for screening and an over 1000-strong audience will be accommodated,” a source said.
Cultural programmes to showcase Karnataka in all its hues will be held on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha, and the kin of K.C. Reddy, Kengal Hanumanthaiya and Kadidal Manjappa, instrumental in the construction of the Vidhana Soudha, will be felicitated on the occasion.
Noted music director Hamsalekha’s muscial programme with 3D mapping of Karnataka heritage will be a major attraction in the evening.
“We had planned to hold an event to take Vidhana Soudha and its heritage across the globe, but that is not possible with the present budget,” said a senior official of the State legislature.
