Mysore/Mysuru: With Kannada and Culture Minister V. Sunil Kumar set to visit Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion in Manasagangothri campus on Apr. 13 as part of the plans to shift the Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Kannada (CESCK) to the Mansion, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha this morning inspected the Mansion and held a preliminary meeting in this regard.

Addressing the meeting, Simha said that a proposal along with the DPR (Detailed Project Report) has been sent to the State Government for shifting CESCK to Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion from its current location at National Centre for History of Science (NCHS) of University of Mysore (UoM), which is housed in the old Tahsildar office building in Manasagangothri campus opposite Premier Studio on Hunsur Road here.

Pointing out that the over century old Mansion, a heritage structure built by the erstwhile Mysore Maharajas over a century ago has turned dilapidated with the passage of time, MP Pratap Simha said that during his recent meeting with Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan, in which Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was also present, he had sought Rs. 25 crore funds for repairs and  restoration of the old structure, the DPR for which was prepared by a consultancy firm. But Pradhan then clarified that the Union Education Ministry can sanction funds only for CESCK activities and not for building and such other purposes and told him to seek funds from the State Government for restoration. Subsequently, he met Bommai a few days ago and sought funds, when he replied in the affirmative, Simha said.

“I also raised the issue of CESCK funds when Bommai was in the city a couple of days ago for Shaktidhama function. The CM said he was mindful of the matter and would take measures for releasing funds soon,” the MP said.

MLA L. Nagendra, Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) Director Dr. Shailendra Mohan, UoM Registrar Prof. R. Shivappa, Sharath Chandra of Deccan Heritage which prepared the DPR, Special Officer to the UoM Vice-Chancellor Dr. H.K. Chetan, Kannada and Culture Department staff Puttappa and others were present.

CESCK was cleared by the Union Government in 2011, three years after Kannada was accorded the ‘Classical Language’ status in 2008. CESCK functioned from CIIL on Hunsur Road for 9 years, before it moved to NCHS of UoM in November 2020, where currently only a few staff are working and little activities are going on for making the Centre a fully operational one.