What made Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar mortgage the Mysuru royal family’s ornaments to complete the construction of Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir (KRS)? Were there chief engineers other than Sir M. Visvesvaraya behind its construction? Who built the Brindavan Gardens?
In an attempt to provide vast details on the structures located on the banks of the Cauvery in Srirangapatna, the Water Resources Department plans to establish a museum near the main entrance of KRS. Setting up the museum has been a decade-old demand. There have also been demands to install statues of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and Sir Visvesvaraya on the premises of KRS.
The State government has resorted to install statues at a cost of ₹8.5 crore. A.S. Ravindra Srikantaiah, Srirangapatna MLA, performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the proposed works on Sunday.
Two 46-ft mantaps, replicas of those in front of the Mysuru palace and K.R. Circle in Mysuru, will be constructed at the place for the statues. A Mysuru-based contractor has been given the tender to complete the project in 12 to 18 months, an officer said. “The mantaps will have content on the life, achievements and contribution of both personalities,” the officer added.
There is a common notion that only Sir. Visvesvaraya had worked on the construction of KRS. The museum will help clear such doubts and enhance visitors’ knowledge on the KRS and Brindavan Gardens, a senior Irrigation Department officer told The Hindu . Diwan Sir Mirza Ismail of Mysore had also planned and built the Brindavan Gardens during the construction of the reservoir.
The museum will contain files, photocopies of important documents, photographs of the construction process, of personalities who visited KRS, of members of the erstwhile royal family, and Diwans who worked for the structures. It will contain audio and visual content, the officer said.
