Bengaluru: Cubbon Park gets its official name board after 70 years. Now, it’s called Sri Chamarajendra Park.
Karnataka horticulture minister SS Mallikarjun on Friday inaugurated the gate with an imposing 14-foot-high arch at the park entrance next to the Karnataka high court. The decision to rename the park was made on July 26, 1948. In the past seven decades, no board with the new name had been installed at any of the eight entrances to the park, a 148-year-old lung space and landmark in the city.
Deputy director of Cubbon Park, Mahantesh Murgod, said the gates were designed by a former chief architect of the public works department. The design of the gates mimics that of the neighbouring high court. New sets of gates are set to come up at two other major entrances: From Hudson Circle (work set to end in two months) and near UB City.
The design of the Hudson Circle entrance gate, which will cost about Rs 85 lakh, will mirror that of the City Central Library. The officer said quotes of literary giants Kuvempu and GS Shivarudrappa will be inscribed on the insides of the gates, extolling the nature and the need to maintain peace in the green expanse.
The officer said they have requested the public works department for more funds to install security grills in certain areas to make the park more secure.
He said the task of installing the new name board for the park “just escaped the attention of the authorities” for decades. “The issue came to my notice after I spoke to mediapersons, and the park’s gardeners and other staffers. We finalized the project a year and a half ago after consulting private architects and PWD architects,” he said.
Times of India
