Bagalkot town finds a home in Correa's plan

Unlike Bengaluru and Mysuru that are grappling with civic issues like blocked drains and garbage clearance, New Bagalkot, a small town of around one lakh population, doesn't have any such problem. For, when Charles Correa, the country's greatest architect, planned this north Karnataka town around 30 years ago, he had factored in future growth and problems.
Navanagar -the township -was planned to rehabilitate people of Bagalkot as most of the town was submerged when the Almatti dam was built on the Upper Krishna.After becoming chief minister in 1984, Ram akrishna Hegde decided to relocate residents of Bagalkot in a new township.And who better than Charles Correa to draw the blueprint for the new town?
“Correa visited Bagalkot twice for the planning. As per his guidance, the design and map for Navanagar was prepared. But all construction w o r k w a s done b y Tankasali Architects of Vijayapura,“ former IAS officer Dr Shivanand Jamadar told TOI.
The renowned architect t passed away last week.
“First, Correa and his team conducted a socio-economic survey of old Bagalkot town.However, the plan he prepared after that was rejected by the people of old city. So, he came out with a modified plan for the town as per people's demand,“ Ja madar, the former Up per Krishna Project ( Re h ab i l i t at i o n and Reconstruc tion) commission er, added.
T he gover n ment allowed peo ple to use the wooden doors and windows of their old houses for constructing new ones in the township. Jamadar further said, “Effective use of available place and low construction cost were the specialties of Correa's design.“
“Though 4,500 acres of land was acquired for Navanagar, only 1,521 acres was sued for the first phase, which has 64 sectors, VB Abbigeri, assistant engineer of Bagalkot Town Development Authority (BTDA), said adding that, “each sector has the provision for a garden, vegetable market and a commercial complex besides the residential sites. Also, provisions were made for a huge market and a commercial complex for every five sectors.“ The locality is so good and developed that now land costs anywhere between Rs 1200 and Rs 1500 per sqft now.
Hanamant Tasagavakar, a littérateur and resident of sector 18, said, “When our house submerged in the Almatti dam backwater, the government allotted us a site in Navanagar. We immediately began constructing a house and moved into it within a year. As there are a lot of facilities in our locality, we feel we are living in a posh area. We still remember Correa and Jamadar who took construction of the new township as a challenge and gave us this township.“