The promise by the State government that ‘Sunny Side,’ the ancestral house of General K S Thimmaiah will be converted into a memorial has remained only on paper, for the last eight years.
‘Sunny Side,’ the mansion that once belonged to General Thimmaiah, is now in the hands of transport department. The negligence of the department of Kannada and Culture to pay Rs 7,80,541 to the Archeology department has led to the present condition of the building. The State government had promised to make Sunny Side a memorial in 2006.
Today is the 108th birth anniversary of General Thimmaiah. The Field Marshal Cariappa- General Thimmaiah Forum members have decided to observe birth anniversary celebrations. The unfulfilled promise of the government has hurt the members of the Forum. The people in the district have been urging the government to convert the house into a memorial.
The RTO office was opened in the ‘Sunny Side’ in 1960s. After the death of General Thimmaiah, when his wife wished to sell the house, the transport department paid Rs 2,33,320, on May 5, 1971.
Owing to the pressure from various quarters, the government had announced in its budget to covert the house into a memorial. The government had even agreed to shift the RTO office to a new building at Abbeyfalls Road. The office was shifted to the new building in June 2013.
The PWD estimated the cost of the Sunny Side building as Rs 7,80,541. The Transport department had asked Kannada and Culture department to pay the amount to the Transport department, to vacate the building in its letter dated May 20, 2012. As the Kannada and Culture department failed to pay the money, the building is still in the hands of the transport department.
The used items of General Thimmaiah is with different regiments. If a memorial comes up, then all the items can be placed at one place. The life of the great solider will be a motivation to the youth, said Field Marshal Cariappa - General Thimmaiah Forum Secretary Ulliyanda M Poovaiah. Kannada and Culture department Assistant Director Mangala Naik was not available for comment.