11.5-km ORR stretch now Dr Rajkumar Punya Bhoomi Road

The 11.5-km stretch of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) from Nayandahalli Circle to Tumakuru Road junction has been named Dr Rajkumar Punya Bhoomi Road by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

On the ninth death anniversary of Kannada thespian Rajkumar on Sunday, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers H N Ananth Kumar unveiled the new plaque for the road. Rajkumar’s memorial is located on this part of the ORR, off Kanteerava Studios.

At an event at the memorial to observe the matinee idol’s death anniversary, many prominent people urged the Union government to honour Rajkumar with Bharat Ratna.

Govindarajnagar MLA Priya Krishna, Mahalakshmi Layout MLA K Gopaliah, MLC T A Saravan, Mayor N Shanthakumari and N R Ramesh, leader of the ruling party in the BBMP Council, attended the event.

Rajkumar’s wife Parvathamma Rajkumar, sons Shivrajkumar, Raghavendra Rajkumar and Puneeth Rajkumar and other family members offered prayers and an array of the late actor’s favourite delicacies. People from across Karnataka gathered at the memorial to offer obeisance to the late actor.

Floral decorations were offered to a life-size poster of the actor. Shivrajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar distributed sweets to people at the venue. “It’s extremely depressing not to have him around. But it’s heartening to see so many of his well-wishers come here to pay respects year after year,” said Parvathamma.