Mincheri Hill near Ballari wore a festive look on Sunday as it saw the tricolour flying over it for the first time after Independence. Transport Minister and Ballari In-charge B. Sriramulu, who climbed up the hill waving the national flag along with thousands of people, especially students, hoisted the flag atop the hill.
He also inaugurated the British Judge Bungalow, which was renovated at a cost of ₹60 lakh, on the top of the hill.
Addressing an emotionally-charged crowd after the flag hoisting, the Minister assured it of developing the hill into a major tourist destination of Ballari district.
“Mincheri Hill is one of the important landmarks of Ballari. The hill is covered in green throughout the year. As part of our initiatives to develop tourism in the district, I have already told officials to identify places that can be developed into tourist destinations. I am happy that Mincheri Hill is one of the potential tourist destinations. I have asked the officials concerned to submit a proposal for developing basic tourist amenities on the hill,” Mr. Sriramulu said, while assuring the people of taking steps to rename the British Judge Bungalow as Armit Mahal.
Deputy Conservator of Forest Sandip Suryawanshi said that the British Judge Bungalow was built in 1894 and it was turned into Range Forest Officer’s quarters after Independence.
“The historical bungalow was renovated without making many alterations to the original architectural designs. We are planning to develop it into a museum as part of developing the entire area as a tourist destination,” Mr. Suryawanshi said.
Later in the day, Mr. Sriramulu inaugurated Gandhi Bhavan built at a cost of ₹3 crore on the premises of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Ballari city.
Legislators G. Somashekhar Reddy and Y.M. Satish, Ballari Mayor Rajeshwari, Deputy Commissioner Pavan Kumar Malapati, Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Panchayat G. Lingamurthy, Additional Deputy Commissioner P.S. Manjunath, Assistant Commissioner Akash Shankar and other senior officers were present.
Transport Minister and Ballari In-charge B Sreeramulu, along with students, climbing the Mincheri Hill near Ballari to hoist the national flag on the hilltop on Sunday.
