Sandalwood star Puneeth Rajkumar has been roped in as the Development Ambassador for Chamarajanagar, one of Karnataka’s most backward districts.
On Saturday, Primary & Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar, who is also the minister in charge of Chamarajanagar, formally invited Puneeth to represent the district.
In fact, Chamarajanagar has a connection with thespian Dr Rajkumar, Puneeth’s father. “My father grew up in Chamarajanagar,” Puneeth said. “I have an emotional attachment to this region. I consider this my privilege to be an ambassador for the development of this region. An overall development of the state can take place when all the districts see development,”
he added.
Kumar said the aim of the government, through this initiative, was to make effective use of the infrastructure and resources available in the district. “The district is rapidly developing. With Puneeth as its ambassador, the district will get a push in tourism, industries and other areas,” the minister said.
According to the Economic Survey of Karnataka 2019-20, Chamarajanagar ranks 21 of the 30 districts in the state, in terms of the Human Development Index. This is based on life expectancy (health), expected years of schooling and mean years of schooling (education) apart from gross national income per capita (standard of living). The district has a population of 10.20 lakh and 34% literacy rate, as per official data.
Chamarajanagar was originally part of the Mysuru district. It was carved out as a separate district in 1997 during the J H Patel government. The district has four taluks: Chamarajanagar, Kollegal, Yelandur and Gundlupet taluks. Chamarajanagar, as Karnataka’s southernmost district, shares border with Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Apparently, Chamarajanagar was earlier known as Sri Arikottara. Erstwhile Mysuru king Chamaraja Wadiyar was born here, so the district was named after him.
Chamarajanagar is famous for the Hogenakkal Falls and the Bandipur National Park. Infamously, the district was also home to forest brigand Veerappan’s activities. In 1992, he attacked the Rampura police station killing several police personnel. In July 2000, Veerappan kidnapped Rajkumar from a farmhouse in Gajanur in Tamil Nadu, close to Chamarajanagar.