Saturday 27 August 2011

Railways await state's nod to begin work on Bangalore-Hassan line

The railways is in a state of preparedness to execute work on the vital Bangalore-Hassan railway line which cuts across the historical Kunigal Stud Farm. But lack of communication from the state government is stalling the work.
A reply from South Western Railway to an RTI query filed by Dinesh Bhat from Puttur states "the matter regarding the alignment at business magnate Vijay Mallya's Kunigal Stud farm has been referred to the state government. The government is yet to communicate the decision".
The public information officer of SWR further states the railways has completed the planning and papers for taking up the work in the stretch is ready. However, work can commence only after the dispute is resolved.
At present, the status of civil works on this important line is as follows: The railways has completed 60% of earth work and bridges on Nelamangala-Solur; 40% in the three km stretch of Kunigal-Yediyuru and 60% of earth work and bridges on Hirisave and Shravanabelagola. The Kunigal Stud Farm falls in between Solur-Kunigal and progress is nil on this section.
Bhat, also the convener of Railway Yathrikara Sangha, Puttur, says that the broad gauge line between Nelamangala-Shravanabelagola will give a direct link to Mangalore-Bangalore reducing the distance by about 40 km, thereby cutting down travel time. Further reduction in travel time is achieved as there is no engine reversal process as is done in Mysore and Arsikere.
Ruing the lack of political will on this aspect, Bhat says this project will be highly beneficial even from the tourism aspect and links B G Nagar, where many institutes of higher learning are situated.
In 2007, the then chief minister H D Kumaraswamy had sent a letter to railways minister Lalu Prasad asking him to change the route alignment. "As an alternative, a small deviation can be made in the alignment so as to protect this important heritage site by realigning the line along the periphery of the stud farm. This realignment would reportedly involve an increase in the length of the railway line by a mere 600 metres," the letter had stated. The SWR had marked the ground for laying the line which had cut across the farm.
Though there are rumours of a new alignment being worked out passing the periphery of the stud farm, SWR chief administrative officer Vijaykumar denied saying that the alignment has not been changed. "We are awaiting reply from the state government on this issue,".
Incidentally, this year's railway budget had announced the commencement of passenger services between Nelamangala and Bangalore.

Friday 12 August 2011

Tumkur

Tumkur (Kannada: ತುಮಕೂರು, Tumakuru) is one of the busiest industrial towns located in the state of Karnataka. Since 28 August 2010, Tumkur has been accorded the status of a Corporation city. It is situated at a distance of 70 kilometers north west of the city of Bangalore along National Highway 4. It is the headquarters of Tumkur district.
Amarashilpi Jakanachari, a legendary sculptor credited with building many fine temples for the Kalyani Chalukyas and Hoysalas, including the famous sculptures at Belur and Halebidu was born in a small village called Kaidala, 9 km from Tumkur.

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[edit]The name

Etymologically Tumakuru is believed to have been mutated possibly from "Tumbe ooru" due to the abundance of Tumbe huuvu, a kind of flower, or Tamate ooru due to the folk musical percussion instrument Tamate, that might have been used most here. Also, it is called as the coconut city.

Tumkur(dt.hq and tq.hq) also called Tummegooru in certain inscriptions of the 10th century appears to have derived the name from the plant tumbe. Another derivation of the name suggested is from tumke, a small drum. It is about 70 km north-west of Bangalore and is connected by rail and road. It is prettily situated on the north-western base of the Devarayanadurga group of hills on an elevated ground near the water-weir of a large tank. The place is a commercial, educational and industrial centre. Kante Arasu of Kaidala is said to have formed the present town consisting of a fort, the walls of which have now been leveled and a pete to the east of it. There are over 40 temples dedicated to various Hindu deities, nine mosques and three churches. Of these, the oldest and the largest is the Lakshmikanthaswamy said to have been constructed during the Vijayanagara days, having an inscription of 1560. It is of Dravidian style of architecture and consists of garbhagriha, a shukanasi, a mukhamantapa and a prakara. The image of the god shown sitting with Lakshmi is about 1.5 metres high. Other places of note in the taluk are as follows: Gulur: about 6 km south of Tumkur town, along with the present Kaidala formed a part of Kridapura. The place is associated with Siddhaveeranacharya, a noted author of many works including Shunya Sampadane. It is well known for the huge Ganesha image made in clay every year and also for the annual jatra held in honour of that deity on the third day after Kartika. Kaidala about 5 km south-west of Tumkur and one km west of Gulur, appears to have been formerly the capital of a petty State and is said to have borne the name of Kridapura. According to a legend, it was the native place of Jakanachari, the famous architect and sculptor. Jakanachari is believed to have regained his hand which he had cut off at Belur due to his bad workmanship. Thus the place is called Kaidala (kai being hand). The Chennakeshava temple at this place is a large building of the Hoysala style with a mahadwara surmounted by a gopura built in the Vijayanagara style. The image of Chennakeshava, also called Channigaraya, faces west and is about 1.8 metres high. A fine figure with folded hands wearing an uttariya (upper cloth) and a dagger in this temple is said to represent the celebrated sculptor Jakanachari. But the truth appears to be that it represents a chief who caused the temple or the mahadwara to be erected. The Gangeshvara temple also called Gangadhareshvara contains inscriptions stating that this and the Narayana temples were erected 1150 A.D. by a chief named Gule Bachi during the Hoysala king Narasimha. Shilpi (Meaning Sculptor)Nanjappa is another reknowned artisan of Tumkur. His family origins might be from Andhra Pradesh. Shilpi Nanjappa was a sculptor, physcicist, bureucrat and astronomer. He has also constructed several temples around Tumkur. Siddhaganga, about 4 km east of Tumkur town and about one km from Kyatsandra attracts a large number of visitors. On a hillock are a temple of Siddhalingeshvara and a natural sacred spring called the Siddaganga. Six small shrines have been built at the entrance to the temple by a devotee of the matha. The celebrated Veerashiva matha which is amidst beautiful natural surroundings is running many educational institutions. A large number of students in the hostel are fed freely without any distinction of caste or creed.(Source: Karnataka State Gazetteer 1983)

[edit]Geography

Tumkur is located at 13.34°N 77.1°E.[1] It has an average elevation of 822 metres (2696 feet). The city has a station on the Southern railway, 43 m. N.W. from Bangalore.

[edit]Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[2] Tumkur had a population of 248,592. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Tumkur has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 70%. About 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
The cultivated products consist chiefly of millet, rice, pulses, arecanut and oil seeds. The chief industries are the making of coarse cotton cloths, woolen blankets, ropes, watches(Hindustan Machine Tools),. WIPRO, TVSE and Karmobiles Ltd. which is merged with Rane Madras. "Tumkur Glow for Beauty Crowns" SWARNMANDIR has been chiselling out the intricate nuances of gold crowns for Miss India-Universe, Miss India-World and Miss India-Earth Sponsored by TANISHQ, have their industries around the town.
Two National Highways NH-4 and NH-206 passes through Tumkur city.

[edit]Educational institutions in Tumkur

  • Shreedevi Group Of Educational Institutions < S.I.E.T >
  • SRS Group of Institutions
  • Siddaganga Group Of Educational Institutions
  • Sri Siddharatha Group Of Educational Institutions
  • H.M.S Group Of Educational Institutions
  • CIT Group Of Educational Institutions
  • Akshaya Group of Educational Institutions
  • Sacred Heart Group Of Educational Institutions
  • Sarvodaya Group Of Educational Institutions
  • St.Joseph's Group Of Educational Institutions
  • sri Sapthagiri Education Trust
  • Sri Maruthi Education Trust
  • Vidyaniketan Group of Educational Institutions
  • Vidyodaya Foundation (R)
  • Kempegowdainstitutes - polytechnic - Belagumba
  • Tumkur District
  • Karnataka

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