NWKRTC to Be Renamed After Kittur Rani Chennamma, Says Shivakumar

The North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) will be renamed the Kittur Rani Chennamma Road Transport Corporation “in the coming days”, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Sunday, 25 October, at the closing ceremony of the Kittur Utsav in Belagavi district. He also promised a Rs 40 crore Chennamma Freedom Park inside Kittur Fort, saying a government order would be issued immediately and the money provided in the next state budget.

A New Name on Buses Across North Karnataka

NWKRTC, headquartered in Hubballi, runs bus services across the Belagavi and Dharwad regions, so the change will reach depots, buses and tickets across much of north-west Karnataka. A similar renaming has been done before: the North Eastern Karnataka RTC became the Kalyana Karnataka RTC in 2021. The Chief Minister did not say what the renaming would cost or when the notification would be issued.

The freedom park, sought by Kittur MLA Babasaheb Patil, is meant to tell the story of Kittur and Chennamma’s fight against the British through visual displays. “The government will provide funds for the Freedom Park in the next Budget,” Shivakumar said.

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Kittur’s 1824 Revolt and the Irrigation Promise

The Kittur Utsav marks Rani Chennamma’s 1824 resistance to the East India Company, one of the earliest armed challenges to British rule in India. Shivakumar also promised money for the Channavrushabhendra Irrigation Project for the Kittur area, which Deccan Chronicle put at Rs 520 crore and Deccan Herald at Rs 590 crore; the government has not published a figure. He said works worth about Rs 1,000 crore, including a 100-bed hospital and Rs 300 crore of Public Works Department projects, have been taken up in the area.

Budget and Order Still to Come

None of the three announcements has a government order yet. The park depends on the next budget, normally presented in February or March, and no timeline was given for the irrigation project’s financial approval. More state news on Daily Updates; recent Karnataka coverage includes the state’s drought relief claim.

Source: Based on reporting by Deccan Chronicle, Deccan Herald and The Hindu.

Image: Deccan Chronicle / By arrangement.