Rs 3 crore facelift for Kempegowda Towers soon

BENGALURU: The tower at the

Kempegowda Nagar

in

South Bengaluru

should ideally be the pride of the city mainly because it was erected by Kempegowda, the founder of Bengaluru. However, the tower, one of the four built by Kempegowda to mark the outermost boundaries of the then Bengaluru, surrounded by a garbage is a mute witness to the

monumental negligence

it is subjected to.

On Tuesday, city mayor

G Padmavathy

during an inspection was shocked to witness the sad state of affairs and took officials concerned to task over the apathy. She directed the officials to immediately get the structure washed and get it surroundings cleaned. “I was shocked to see an ancient step well getting buried there. The same will also be rejuvenated,” she added.

Padmavathy said the protection and facelift of all four

Kempegowda towers

will be taken up at a total cost of Rs 3 crore. The three other towers are located at Mehkri Circle underpass along

Ballari Road

, Lalbagh and Ulsoor Lake respectively. It is said that Kempegowda installed these towers soon after he founded the city of Bengaluru in the year 1537.

The Mayor also inspected the 60 year old Lakkasandra market and directed officials to prepare a plan to redevelop the ancient space with modern amenities.