S.M. Krishna to donate Rs. 5 lakh cash award to Sri Ramakrishna Ashram in Mysuru

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai conferred the first Nadaprabhu Kempegowda International Award to three eminent personalities at the 513th Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Jayanthi celebrations held at Vidhana Soudha’s Banquet Hall here on Monday (June 27).

The award, instituted in honour of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, the Founder of Bengaluru,  was conferred on former Chief Minister and veteran politician S.M. Krishna, Infosys Founder N.R. Narayana Murthy (received by his wife Sudha Murty on his behalf) and former iconic badminton player Prakash Padukone (received by his friend Vimal Kumar on his behalf).

Speaking after receiving the award, former CM S.M. Krishna said that Bengaluru, which has earned worldwide attention, should grow further in an organised manner.

Recalling that Bengaluru and Hyderabad cities were in the race in the late nineties for being called as the Silicon City of India, Krishna maintained that Bengaluru won the race and has continued to attract global attention for its IT and BT innovations.

He pointed out that Tier-2 cities such as Hubballi-Dharwad, Mysuru, Shivamogga and Kalaburagi too can be developed to international IT hubs.

Highlighting the contributions made by Infosys Founder N.R. Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji of Wipro and such other iconic personalities, Krishna recalled that former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh had once said that India should be seen through Bengaluru, which itself describes the prominence of Bengaluru, both nationally and  internationally.

S.M. Krishna also announced that he would be donating the Rs. 5 lakh cash prize that he received along with the award to Sri Ramakrishna Ashram in Mysuru, his alma mater.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, in his address, said that a statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda will be installed in Vidhana Soudha premises.

Noting that the BBMP had passed a resolution in 2017 itself on installing Kempegowda statue, for which Rs.12 lakh grant was set aside, he said that for some reasons the statue did not come up. Now the statue will be installed before the next year’s Jayanthi, he said.

Besides, the works on the installation of 108 ft. tall statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda near Kempegowda International Airport at Devanahalli is nearing completion, he said adding that there are plans to invite PM Modi for the unveiling of this statue.

Higher Education Minister Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan, Adichunchanagiri Mutt Seer Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji, Sri Gurugunda Brahmeshwara Mutt Seer Sri  Nanjavadutha Swamiji, MLC K. Govindaraju and others were present.