Smart City: Lion, PiliNalike sculptures to come up at Mangaladevi, Marnimakatte circles soon

Mangaluru: As part of the Smart City Project, the Mangaladevi and Marnamikatte circles are expected to get a ‘cultural look’.

The Mangaluru Smart City Limited has decided to install sculptures of lions at the Mangaldevi Circle and that of tiger dance artists at Marnamikatte circle.

The lion sculptures are being installed as per demand of the locals.

Mangaladevi vicinity gets its name from Goddess Mangaladevi (Mangaluru is named after the Goddess). As lion is the vehicle of Goddess Mangaladevi and based on the demand of locals it has been decided to install lion sculptures at this circle. The Union Bank of India, under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), will be helping in the development of the Mangaladevi Circle.

Similarly, the Marnimakatte Circle too would be developed esthetically.

The circle is named “Marnima” (which means auspicious nine days of Dasara). In Dakshina Kannada during the Dasara celebrations, ‘tiger dance’ is the center of attraction. Hence, the circle will be having sculptures of tiger dance artists.

Speaking to Udayavani, Mangaluru South Constituency MLA Vedavyas Kamath has said that the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) would call for a tender to involve private players to take up the development of the circle under CSR.

Mayor Premananda Shetty said, “Mangaladevi and Marninamakatte areas represent the culture and heritage of the Dakshina Kannada district. We want to retain the cultural aspects of these areas. For this reason, we have decided to place lion and tiger sculptures in the circles”.

Although earlier several private organizations had come forward to develop the Marnamikatte Circle, management was not possible due to various reasons.

Meanwhile, as per the sources, several other circles in the city will also be developed in the coming days with the help of private players.