Century-old choultry to be razed to build new college

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said the century-old Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry building (built in 1890) would be demolished to construct a new building with all modern facilities to expand the Maharani’s Women’s Arts College. The choultry, in the heart of the city, is under the Muzarai department.

After inaugurating the Cultural Forum of the Maharani’s College, here, on Tuesday, he said, as it is a heritage building, there will be resistance. “The objective is to provide quality education to the students of Mysuru. So, steps will be taken carefully to avoid any legal issue. The Maharani’s College (established in 1902) is also over a century old. Thousands of students study here. Hence, the college is facing numerous problems. It is not possible to provide all infrastructure and facilities to students on the present premises of the college. To solve their problems, we need space in the heart of the city. The choultry is diagonally opposite to the college and is suitable for expansion,” he said. “The state government is stressing on quality education. For the development of Maharani’s College, funds are not a constraint. An air-conditioned centenary hall will be constructed at a cost of Rs 45 crore. Besides, facilities will be provided for Yoga and sports. In view of reducing dependence on the power grid, a solar park will be established on the college premises. State-of-the-art technology will be used for providing drinking water and for construction of toilets,” Kumaraswamy said.

“The facilities in all government colleges, under city municipality limits, will be upgraded on par with ace private institutions. For repair works and for construction of necessary classrooms, in all schools, PU colleges and degree colleges, Rs 1,000 crore has been set aside,” he said.

“The waiver of farm loans will not have any impact on the development of the state. We will ensure that even a single Rupee of the tax paid by the people will be used judiciously. Directions have been issued to the officials concerned in this regard. Officials with integrity will be protected. They have been asked not to buckle under any political pressure and act only in the interest of the people,” he said.