JOIN USMayor Padmavathi has said that a decision would be taken on Monday to end the ongoing deadlock between the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and P D Sathischandra of Prakasam Trust over the lease and rentals of K H Kala Soudha, auditorium which has been shut for the past five months.
She said this during her visit to the auditorium on Thursday. The Mayor, after listening to the grievances of the artistes and the Trust, hinted at reducing the rentals of the 300-seater auditorium.
The auditorium has remained unused since February owing to a tiff between the Palike and the Trust, and the steep increase of rent.
“We encourage the theatre activities. Not all theatre troupes can afford the rent of Rs 40,000. The hike may prove too much for the new troupes. The best way to deal with the issue is to bring down the rent to Rs 25,000 or so, a win-win situation for both theatre troupes and the auditorium,” said the mayor.
The five-year lease, awarded to P D Sathishchandra, to maintain the auditorium terminated in 2014. “Later, the Palike floated the tender for maintaining auditorium four times. Since there was no bidder, our request for extension was granted. The extension ended in February and we are barred from applying for the fresh tender,” said Sathishchandra.
A group of artistes rushed to the auditorium after they learnt of Mayor’s visit. They apprised the Mayor of their inability to pay such huge rent as most of the time, the plays will either be for free or with a nominal ticket price, he said.
The artistes have started a social media campaign with #SaveKalaSoudha and have been receiving huge support from the fraternity. Talking about the campaign, Sathischandra said: “We are ready to negotiate the rent with BBMP officials. But we will not stop our campaign until we receive justice.” A final decision will be taken on Monday at a meeting to be chaired by the Mayor. Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya, senior artistes like T N Seetharam, Sihi Kahi Chandru and others are expected to attend the meeting.