Activists belonging to Samana Manaskara Vedike and other Dalit organisations installed a roadside nameboard bearing ‘Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Double Road’, on a stretch of 100 feet road in Mandya to mark Dr. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary celebrations on Monday.
According to Lakshman Cheeranahalli from the Vedike, the road in Mandya’s commercial area was hitherto referred to colloquially as ‘100 feet road’, even though the city municipal council (CMC) of Mandya had passed a resolution 50 years ago in 1975 to rename the road as “Dr. Ambedkar Road”.
Due to a lack of political will, the authorities were unable to implement the resolution. The efforts of Dalit and other progressive organisations to officially name the road after Dr. Ambedkar did not yield any positive results, he said.
But, the activists decided to install roadside nameboards of ‘Dr. Ambedkar Double Road’ on the stretch of 100 feet road between Cauvery School to Gowrishankar Community Hall on the occasion of Dr. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary.
Mr. Lakshman said various organisations like Samana Manaskara Vedike and Dalit groups had tried to draw the attention of authorities by pasting vinyl stickers on the road, naming it as Dr. Ambedkar Road ahead of the Dr. Ambedkar Jayanthi. But the police had removed the stickers, he said.
However, we remained undeterred and installed the nameboards on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, he said.
Mr. Lakshman said the authorities last year tried to rename the road after Kempegowda, but the Dalit and other groups objected to the move and drew the CMC’s attention to the 1975 resolution.
Published - April 14, 2025 08:53 pm IST
