Mysuru:  “The erstwhile rulers of Mysuru concentrated more on building the State, unlike the rulers in the North who were more keen on plundering wealth of the people. Thus the rulers of Mysuru were far different in their approach to people’s needs,” said MLA Vasu.

He was speaking after inaugurating a two-day State-level Conference on the topic “Irrigational Projects during the Mysore Wadiyar Regime” organised by Vidyavardhaka First Grade College, in association with Department of Archaeology Museums and Heritage, yesterday at the college premises on Seshadri Iyer Road.

“In fact mother of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar Maharani Kemparajammanni had even pledged her gold jewellery in the Mumbai market to construct KRS dam,” said Vasu and added, “hence, there is a huge difference between the way the emperors and kings functioned in other parts of the world in the past and our own dynastic rulers when compared to the benevolent Wadiyars’ rule.”

“The Wadiyars had a 100-year vision and that is how they founded University of Mysore, Maharaja’s College and Maharani’s College, built K.R. Hospital, industries like K.R. Mills, Sandalwood Oil Factory, Silk Factory, setup CITB to name a few. The PKTB Sanatorium was constructed on a 100-acre plot nearly 100 years ago and because of the vast space, today it is possible to build Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research on the same land,” said Vasu.

“If it was not for the foresight and sacrifice of the Wadiyars, then there would have been no Mandya on the map of the State as the construction of Krishna Raja Sagar Dam helped the farmers of the region to irrigate their lands, he said.

Dr. Susheela Urs, who delivered the keynote address, spoke about the need of such conferences. “It is to enlighten the younger generation to know about Wadiyars who provided a perfect platform for magnificent and modern Mysuru that we are living in. In times of no dams or reservoirs, when agriculture depended on rain itself, Wadiyars managed the water source very impressively. Every house had a well and every village had pond then,” she said.

Principal Dr. S. Mari Gowda and Conference Secretary Prof. K.S. Savitha were present.