JOIN USMandya all set to celebrate platinum jubilee celebrations
The three-day platinum jubilee celebrations of the formation of the district are all set to begin in the city on Friday. Various venues have been readied to host a variety of programmes and the main events will be held at Sir M Visvesvaraya Stadium.
The celebrationa are also an excuse to introspect the progress and failures of the district since its bifurcation from the undivided Mysuru district on July 1, 1939. It is also an occasion to chalk out plans for the future.
The district was fortunate to be under the rule of many legendary dynasties like the Cholas, Gangas, Hoysalas and especially the Yadu dynasty. As the region was under the welfare State of Mysore, ‘administered’ by the Wadiyar kings for a couple of centuries before Independence, progress was natural.
Asia’s first hydro-electric generation plant was set up in Shivanasamudra, with a unique 2.8 km tunnel being dug as part of the Visvesvaraya Canal to feed water to the fields from KRS Dam, while sugar factories were established to complement the availability of sugarcane in abundance, thanks to the irrigation facilities created with the construction of the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir. Besides agriculture, subsidiary industries such as jaggery manufacturing units, animal husbandry and the education sector is thriving. As a result of excellence in education, many people from the district are well placed in various professions across the globe.
However, the district has failed to evolve into a self-sustaining economy. Haphazard ‘development’ has become a handicap.
The foresight and initial plans of Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, Dewan Sir Mirza Ismail, then legislators S C Mallaiah and M C Lingegowda have failed due to the greed of the present day people’s representatives and bureaucrats.
Already, a few programmes like two-day seminar, sports meet, theatre festival, etc, have been held to mark the celebrations. An ‘Amrutha Mahothsava Ratha’ has almost toured the entire district.
The programmes scheduled to begin on Friday are on a larger scale. Light music by Prathibanjali and Kikkeri Krishnamurthy troupes, folk music by Pichalli Srinivas and troupe and other cultural programmes, exhibition and food mela, entertainment programmes by film artistes on February 21 and 22, felicitation to achievers, etc have been planned.
Former chief minister S M Krishna — who is a native of the district and also son of S C Mallaiah, who played a vital role in the creation of the district — will launch the celebrations on Friday evening, while Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will deliver the valedictory address on the evening of February 22.