The 131st birth anniversary of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar was celebrated in the city on Thursday but was a low-key affair.
Reckoned to be the architect of modern Mysuru, the region witnessed a slew of developments under him including expansion of agriculture, Railways, establishment of major industries, completion of the Krishanraja Sagar dam, University of Mysore, Sahitya Parishat, State Bank of Mysore, urban and town planning through City Improvement Trust Board, reservation for the backward classes in public services (Miller Committee recommendations) to name a few.
While the district administration garlanded the statue of the erstwhile king at K.R. Circle, members of the Ursu community took out a procession with his portrait accompanied by a band. Similarly, the Mysore Urban Development Authority (erstwhile CITB) paid tributes to its founder.
The anniversary celebrations were more of a commemoration by garlanding the statue and were devoid of any programme or seminar to assess his contributions to the region. The former Mayor, Purushottam, took exception to such low-key celebrations which, the officials, attributed to the prevalence of code of conduct due to the gram panchayat elections.
But it is pertinent to note that there are no official celebrations on a grand scale by the district administration or the government to mark the birth anniversary of Krishnaraja Wadidyar IV though a demand for it is gaining traction in recent years.
