Kannada and Culture Department has taken up renovation of the Kalakshetra at a cost of Rs 2.83 crore. The renovated auditorium will be inaugurated on the eve of 51th Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations.

Principal Secretary of Public Works Department Sudheer Krishna and Kannada and Culture Department Secretary I M Vittalmurthy will inaugurate the auditorium on October 31.

“The inauguration will be followed by cultural programmes. The formal programme is a sort of demonstration of new set ups placed on the stage. The first mega event in the auditorium will be presentation of Rajyotsava awards, scheduled for November 1”, said Kannada and Culture Department Secretary I M Vittalmurthy.

The auditorium was built in 1965. In the last 42 years the renovation of the auditorium was not taken up in a major way. The state government included renovation of the auditorium as part of its programmes to mark the  Suvarna Karnataka celebrations, he added.

Mr Vittalamurthy said, renovation works have been taken up keeping needs of performers on the stage as well as the comfort of viewers. Performers will have all modern facilities. Earlier lighting was handled manually. Now it has been computerised.

Separate green rooms for male and female artists have been set up on the sides of the stage, he said.

As many as 850 seats of the auditorium have been remodelled each at a cost of Rs 3,500. The sewerage and drainage system of the auditorium was very old and flooding in its premises was common during the rainy season. Now it has been changed, he added.

The department is constructing a book shop behind the Kalakshetra. Kannada books, Compact discs will be sold there. A restaurant is also coming up in the premises.  “Our aim is to convert the entire premises of Ravindra Kalakshetra into a cultural complex. Art lovers should have place access to books as well as refreshment at one place”, Mr Vittalmurthy said.