Hubli: The weekend spirit in the twin-cities has been dampened by the incessant rain. Almost 90% of the business establishments remained shut. The rain, which began at 10 pm on Saturday, is continuing relentlessly. The Met department has forecast that rain will continue for another three to four days in Dharwad district. Four houses — two in Old Hubli and two in Tumkur Oni —- were damaged early Sunday. Low-lying areas were inundated and water entered many houses in Old Hubli locality. People chose to remain indoors since morning, going out with great difficulty to fetch milk and other essential commodities. Dharwad Several houses were damaged and normal life was thrown out of gear due to heavy rain lasting nearly six hours. Houses were damaged in Navalur, Belligatti, Mansur, Alnavar in Dharwad taluk and Kamaripet in Hubli. However, there was no damage to life. Kundgol and Navalgund received moderate rain, while Dharwad received 35 mm, Kalghatagi received 40 mm and Hubli 40-50 mm. Belgaum Heavy rain during the last 36 hours disrupted normal life. Rain has also lashed the parched Chikkodi taluk and its surrounding areas. Heavy rain in the catchment areas has swelled the Malaprabha river and about 20 families in the police training school premises in Khanapur have been shifted to safer places. Bidar Shahagunj Darwaza, one of the gates of the ancient fort built by Baridshahi dynasty more than two centuries ago in Bidar City partially collapsed, after incessant rain. The archaeological department has failed to protect it.
This temple, built by Kempe Gowda, houses the magnificent stone statue of the sacred bull, Nandi. It stands over 15 feet tall and is over 20 feet long . In Nov/Dec every year, when the groundnuts have been harvested, a groundnut fair is held near the temple. The first groundnuts are offered by the farmers to the sacred bull.
This wooded and beflowered park was laid out in the heart of the cantonment in 1864. Since then, fairy fountains, an august bandstand and a wealth of atatury have been added. But the most important aspect of Cubbon Park is its newer buildings that have added beauty and cultural wealth. Lush green lawns, shady flowering trees, vibrant flower beds, make Cubbon park an ideal place for morning joggers and alike.
The Vidhana Soudha, located in Bangalore (Bengaluru), is the seat of the state legislature of Karnataka. It is an imposing building, constructed in a style sometimes described as 'Neo-Dravidian', and incorporates elements of Indo-Saracenic, Rajasthani Jharokha and Dravidian styles. It was built in the 1950s. Shri Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Chief Minister of Mysore from 1951 to 1956, is credited with the conception of the Vidhana Soudha. He visited Europe, Russia, United States and other places and got the idea of building Vidhana Soudha by incorporating various designs from the buildings he had seen. The foundation was laid by the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on July 13, 1951. It was completed in 1956. Kengal Hanumanthaiah took a lot of interest and effort in building this marvelous granite building. It is also called as Taj Mahal of south India[citation needed]. Thousands of prisoners were used to build this building because of shortage of laborers. Kengal Hanumanthaiah had to face lot of criticism as the cost of building increased during the construction. The Vidhana Soudha has four floors above and one floor below ground level and sprawls across an area of 700 by 350 feet. It is the largest Legislative building in India. Its eastern face has a porch with 12 granite columns, 40 feet tall. Leading to the foyer is a flight of stairs with 45 steps, more than 200 feet wide. The central dome, 60 feet in diameter, is crowned by a likeness of the Indian national emblem. he cost of construction at that time was just 17.5 million rupees. But presently, annual maintenance cost itself is more than 20 million rupees (which include repairs, painting, and other miscellaneous expenses).
The building is illuminated on Sundays and public holidays.
The Karnataka government has constructed a replica named Vikasa Soudha to the south of the building. Initiated by the then Chief Minister S M Krishna and inaugurated in February 2005, it is intended to be an annex housing some of the ministries and legislative offices.
Opposite to Vidhana soudha is The High Court of Karnataka. Both buildings are in the Cubbon park.
