Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said his government will extend all support for the modernisation of Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited (MPVL), an enterprise founded by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar that is now celebrating its 75th anniversary, so that the factory that manufactures indelible ink and paints successfully functions for another 75 years.
Speaking after inaugurating the platinum jubilee celebrations of MPVL, formerly Mysore Lac Factory, at Kalamandira here, he said though MPVL was making profits, its expansion has become essential to compete with the private players. Modernisation of the factory, adding new-age machineries, and adopting new marketing strategies will make it long-lasting.
Institutions founded by the Maharajas of Mysuru, which have established their own identity, can continue to serve the future generations only if they adopt modern technologies as the Mysuru kings had the forethought of establishing such entities which have been manufacturing essential goods for the people since many years now - be it MPVL or the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents, he explained.
Recalling the contributions of the Mysuru kings, especially Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, to agriculture, industry, education and other sectors, he said the State progressed in many sectors, including IT and BT, only because of the strong foundation laid by them with their far-sightedness. They saw the future and contributed accordingly for which the State will always remain indebted to them.
“I always recall the contributions of the Mysuru Wadiyars in conferences and events that I attend as their contributions to the State were immense and were responsible for the State seeing remarkable development in various fields. The technology they initiated decades ago had put the State on the right track. The contribution of the Maharanis too was immense,” Mr. Bommai felt.
The enterprises manufacturing steel, cement, paper, paints and so on founded by the Mysuru kings have remained the State’s strength, contributing to Karnataka’s development, he told the gathering.
Describing the KRS dam as a symbol of the Mysore kings’ resolve for serving the people, Mr. Bommai said the dam built using lime-mortar is an engineering marvel and he considers it as a monument. The repair of all its crest gates will be completed soon as the main focus was to plug water leakage. An impossible goal has been achieved as over 16 gates have been repaired so far, and the gates’ life has been increased by another 50 years.
Earlier, Mr. Bommai and other dignitaries offered floral tributes to the portrait of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the progressive king of Mysore, who founded institutions like MPVL, which is recognised not in the country but also in many countries because of the indelible ink it manufactures for elections.
Minister for Water Resources Govind Karjol, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the erstwhile Mysore royal family, S A Ramdas, L Nagendra, MLAs, MPVL Chairman R Raghu and others were present.
