As many as 136 personalities will be conferred the Kempe Gowda Award on Friday as part of Kempe Gowda Day celebrations.
Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana told presspersons that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will give away the Kempe Gowda Award on Friday evening.
The list of 136 awardees was finalised by a committee from among 600 applicants. And, 16 persons who had not applied for the same also made it to the final list, the Mayor added.
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Prominent among the awardees are renowned lexicographer G. Venkatasubbaiah, former hockey player Ashish Kumar Ballal, Karnataka Ranji Team captain R. Vinaykumar, film personalities K.S.L. Swamy, Saiprakash, Ramesh Bhat, Sadashiva Brahmavar, medical professionals Mruthyunjaya from Mallige Hospital and Srikanth Shetty from Vikram Hospital.
Defending the huge number of awardees, Mr. Sathyanarayana said that with the term of the council ending next year, it is uncertain if the award ceremony will be held the next year. “That apart, there are many Bangaloreans who have excelled in various fields. If we feel someone has been left out, their names may also be added,” he said.
The award this year will comprise a citation, a momento and a purse of Rs. 12,000. Mr. Sathyanarayana said that Rs. 1 crore will be spent on organising Kempe Gowda Day celebrations at the BBMP head office.
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The Kempe Gowda statue opposite the BBMP head office will be garlanded to mark the beginning of the celebrations. Then processions from the four watch towers in Kempambudi Lake, Lalbagh, Ulsoor and Ramanashree Park will be taken out simultaneously and culminate near the head office.
Well-performing BBMP officials will also be felicitated on the occasion, the Mayor added.