Hubballi's Rani Chennamma Circle to be history soon

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Rani Chennamma Circle which is synonymous with Hubballi, a big commercial centre in North Karnataka, is likely to soon become history due to the coming up of an elevated road.

Be it a protest, victory celebration or welcoming VVIPs, the historic spot was a ubiquitous part of any event in the city for a very long time. The circle is the confluence of six roads including those from Belagavi, Bengaluru, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Hospet and Karwar and a beautiful statue of Rani Chennamma, a brave queen from Kittur in Belagavi sitting on a horse has been installed in it. The statue is likely to be shifted elsewhere.

The iconic circle became famous after the shooting of a Kannada song sung by Kannada thespian Dr Rajkumar, "Huttedare Kannadnadinalli Huttabeku" in the mid-90s. Another song sequence of Puneet Rajkumar too has been shot at the same circle which is surrounded by a number of shops, multistorey buildings, business establishments and more importantly the Hubballi City Bus Station. People of Hubballi have an emotional bond with the circle which is a meeting point for many and also a place for buying fruits and vegetables.

Earlier, it was a small circle which was later improved upon. The place has a history dating back to several centuries. The statue of Rani Chennamma was installed around 30 years ago to instill a sense of patriotism among people.

The shooting of several Kannada movies has taken place at the circle. Now the elevated road is likely to erase this circle from public memory forever. Already the work of digging deep trenches for the erection of the cement pillars has started and this circle may vanish soon from the Hubballi map.

Mahendra H Singhi, a local businessman and a social activist, told News Trail that the speciality of the circle is that it is like a main junction for all residential layouts situated on all sides of the city. The proposed elevated road will start from the front of the City Corporation and will continue upto Airport Road (Gokul Road) via Rani Chennamma Circle, Indira Glass House and MM Joshi Eye Hospital. People have grown up seeing the circle and have an affinity with it. The government can make a slight deviation in its plans to save the historic circle, say Hubballi residents.

K.T. Patil, a senior citizen, remembers visiting the circle on his way to school snf the market. Rani Chennamma Circle has witnessed several historic events in the last 50-60 years both pleasant and unpleasant, he added.