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Cabinet approves renaming Ramanagara as Bengaluru South district
The proposal was mooted by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar whose Assembly constituency comes under Ramanagara district
A file photo of Ramadevara Betta in Ramanagara district.
In what is expected to trigger a political slugfest in the Vokkaliga heartland, the State government on Friday approved renaming Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South.
“The Cabinet gave its approval to the renaming proposal as it would benefit from the Brand Bengaluru image. The demand had come from people and elected representatives,” Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil told presspersons during a briefing after the Cabinet meeting.
“The process will commence now and the Revenue Department will issue a notification soon to change the name of [Ramanagara] district.”
When asked if a committee should have studied the proposal, the Minister said: “Earlier the district reorganisation process had committees. Objections were called before the districts were carved out. However, Cabinet approval is sufficient for renaming the district.”
DKS’s proposal
The proposal was mooted by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, whose Assembly constituency Kanakapura comes in Ramanagara district.
However, the name change has met with resistance from the Janata Dal (S) and its leader and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy during whose tenure as Chief Minister Ramanagara district was carved out from Bengaluru Rural district.
The former Chief Minister, involved in a bitter turf war with Mr. Shivakumar, announced that the district would be named again as Ramanagara when they form the government in the State in the future.
On the criticism that the renaming was a ploy to appease the real estate lobby, Mr. Patil said: “If the property price increases, residents will only benefit.”
He insisted there was no personal interest of anyone in this decision. “The government thinks that the move will help the district reap the benefits of Brand Bengaluru,” he said.
This decision would create multiple “Bengaluru” names around the State capital. While the new district will be called Bengaluru South, the Bengaluru Urban district has a Bengaluru South taluk, and there is also a Bengaluru Rural district.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kumaraswamy told presspersons in Delhi that those who try to remove the name of “Rama” for their personal benefit would be destroyed.
“Merely changing the name will not bring real estate benefits. Development activities in the district matters. The district will get back its name as Ramanagara in 2028 or even before that,” he said.
Many names
Interestingly, Ramanagara town has been called by multiple times in the past. During the reign of Tipu Sultan, it was known as Shamserabad, which was renamed as Closepet after Sir Barry Close who played a major role in the siege of Srirangapatna. After Independence, during former Chief Minister and Union Minister Kengal Hanumanthaiya’s time, it was named Ramanagara since it has Ramdevara Betta.
When the district was carved out of Bengaluru Rural in 2007, it was named Ramanagara.
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