Panel moots Rs 600-cr Anubhava Mantapa in Basavakalyan

An expert committee on Monday recommended to the government to construct ‘Anubhava Mantapa’ at Basavakalyan in Bidar district at an estimated cost of Rs 604 crore.

The seven-member technical committee constituted by the Basavakalyana Development Board, also recommended to construct an international spiritual centre using the Chalukya style architecture on a 25-acre land at Basavakalyan. The committee, headed by scholar Go Ru Channabasappa, submitted a detailed report in this regard to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Channabasappa said that the committee, after holding consultations with the public and scholars, has proposed that structure have six storeys incorporating the three main Sharana principles -- ‘Shatsthala’, ‘Ashtavarana’ and ‘Panchachara’. A 100-feet ‘linga’ will adorn the structure on the top.

A ‘sabha bhavan’ (auditorium) has been envisioned with 770 seats, symbolic of the Shivasharanas, who built Anubhava Mantapa, the ‘first parliament of the world’.

Dasoha bhavan

Apart from a terrace garden, open air theatre and art centre, the committee has also proposed that ‘dasoha bhavan’ that can feed 1,500 people in a single sitting, he said.

Channabasappa said that the committee has requested the government to construct the building in stone, as it can last a “thousand years”.

The proposal to build a new Anubhava Mantapa came up during the Board meeting presided by Siddaramaiah in May, 2016. Subsequently, the committee was set up earlier this year.

Siddaramaiah, who is also the Board’s chairman, later told reporters that the report will be put forward before the Board, which will arrive at a decision shortly.