The Kanakapura 'rock': How land of granite shaped D K Shivakumar

Kanakapura: At first, political rivals used the nickname ‘Bande’ (Rock) to mock D K Shivakumar. They accused him of destroying the hills of Kanakapura through his granite mining business for personal profit. 

Even though people still argue about his past mining business, locals say Shivakumar has spent a large amount of his own money to improve Kanakapura.

In the local villages, old and dangerous dirt tracks have been replaced with wide, smooth asphalt roads.

He also donated his own land to build large schools named after his parents. 

At the same time, his deep faith has led to big temple projects. He spent over Rs 3 crore to rebuild an ancient, 1,500-year-old Shiva temple. Villagers say he is highly religious and sometimes visits the temple at 4 am just to pray.

Right now, workers are building a large retaining wall near the river to protect the temple from flooding. There are also plans to build a pedestrian hanging bridge and water dams to help local farmers. 

His supporter Dunturu Vishwanath said: “We say he is a man who takes a job all the way to the shore (dada muttisuvavaregu). He is an expert at finishing whatever work he picks,” Vishwanath said. 

Looking back at Shivakumar’s early days, Vishwanath recalled
that when he first entered politics, he did not have the massive wealth he has today. 

“When he started, land in this area was not worth much. But over the years, the price of land around Bengaluru and Ramanagara shot up. Every few years, the value of his properties doubled and tripled, turning into a massive empire. He did not come from extreme poverty. His family was well-to-do, but he did not have the huge amounts of money needed for modern elections back then,” he explained. 

84-year-old Gowramma, the mother of D K Shivakumar at his Kodihalli residence at Kanakapura on Sunday.