Karnataka: Kempegowda Jayanthi postponed following demise of former President Pranab Mukherjee

The state government has put a hold on the Kempegowda Jayanthi celebrations, following the demise of former President Pranab Mukherjee. This is the second time the festival has been postponed this year.

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to postpone the much awaited Kempegowda Jayanthi celebrations, following the demise of former President Pranab Mukherjee.

The Karnataka government has issued a circular cancelling all programmes scheduled during the seven-day national mourning, till September 6.

The event usually coincides with the famous Bengaluru Karaga festival. It was earlier postponed a few months ago following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the city.

Soliciting the former President’s death, Bengaluru mayor M Goutham Kumar stated that a date would be fixed after discussions with the BBMP commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad.

Manjunatha Prasad was quoted by a popular website stating his close association with the former President during his posting as district magistrate and collector of Murshidabad district from 2004-06. “Pranab Mukherjee was elected as MP of Jangipur (Murshidabad district). I worked very closely with him during my tenure. His demise is a great loss to me, personally,” he said.

Earlier the civic body had scheduled the celebrations on September 2 and had decided to give away the prestigious Kempegowda awards to 20 people who had helped the state government and BBMP fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next date for the Kempegowda Jayanthi has still not been fixed by the civic body.