Row over naming KRS road after Siddaramaiah continues

The row over naming a stretch of KRS road here after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah continued to rage with Congress leaders questioning the veracity of claims by the former Mayor Sandesh Swamy that the stretch was named as Princess Road by the erstwhile City Improvement Trust Board (CITB).

The row over naming a stretch of KRS road here after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah continued to rage with Congress leaders questioning the veracity of claims by the former Mayor Sandesh Swamy that the stretch was named as Princess Road by the erstwhile City Improvement Trust Board (CITB).

Mr. Sandesh Swamy, who had unsuccessfully contested the elections to the Legislative Assembly from Narasimharaja constituency in Mysuru as a BJP candidate, displayed a map before the media and claimed that the road had been identified as ‘Princess Road’ in 1921 by CITB, which later became MUDA.

But, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson, M. Lakshman, dismissed Mr. Sandesh Swamy’s claims and cited the Mysore Gazeteer to claim that the road was named ‘KRS road’ in 1931 after the completion of Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS).

The stretch was named as KRS road as it led to KRS, the Congress leader reasoned. He said the Princess Krishnajammanni tuberculosis hospital named as PKTB sanatorium after the princess was established in 1921 while the KRS was completed in 1931.

He said the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) would adopt legal procedures while naming the road as ‘Siddaramaiah Arogya Marg’ as per the representation submitted by Chamaraja assembly constituency MLA, Harish Gowda, based on the aspirations of the people of the constituency.

If records of the road named as ‘Princess Road’ existed with MUDA as claimed by the former Mayor, why was the road not referred by its name so far? he asked.

Meanwhile, Mysuru City Congress president R Murthy said that the Congress had informed the MCC that the party would not press for Mr. Siddaramaiah’s name to the road if the stretch had already been officially named as Princess Road as claimed by BJP leaders.