Activists urge BBMP to reopen Gubbi Veeranna Rangamandira

BENGALURU: Although renovation of the Gubbi Veeranna Rangamandira at Gandhinagar has been completed, uncertainty looms over the resumption of operations at the theatre venue, with a proposal on the auditorium's rent awaiting approval from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner Manujunath Prasad.
The theatre had been shut down for renovation in 2013. Last week, theatre persoanlities and artists staged a protest demanding that the BBMP reopen the venue soon.Film director and theatre personality TS Nagabharana, who has been involved in the protests to get the theatre up and running again, said, “We will wait for a week. If the BBMP fails to reopen the venue, we will launch the protest again.“
BBMP's executive engineer, MS Palaksha said, “Renovation works have been completed. We have proposed to charge a monthly rent of Rs 85,000 for the venue, which will be used by professional theatre groups. We are awaiting the commissioner's nod.“ The BBMP ward works committee chairman B Bhadre Gowda said, “Although the renovation works have been completed, the maintenance of the theatre has left a lot to be desired for. We have asked the officials to complete the work in a week.“
Named in the memory of theatre doyen Gubbi Veeranna, who founded the Gubbi Channabasaveshwara Nataka Company , the auditorium has been a favoured venue for many professional theatre troupes, particularly for those from north Karnataka.