Karnataka Ratna Award to be conferred posthumously on Puneeth today

BENGALURU: Late actor Puneeth Rajkumar will be awarded the ‘Karnataka Ratna’ on Tuesday on the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava at Vidhana Soudha.

Puneeth Rajkumar is the ninth personality to be conferred the Karnataka Ratna Award. Rajinikanth, the Tamil superstar, and Jr NTR, Sudha Murty, will attend the programme. A stage styled on Hampi has been set up at the eastern entrance of Vidhana Soudha and 30 seats are arranged on the stage. Seating arrangements for Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the Puneeth Rajkumar family, guests and cabinet members have been made.

Superstar Rajinikanth, Jr NTR and Sudha Murty will participate in Karanataka Ratna Award ceremony at Vidhana Soudha.

Parking arrangements have been made at the western gates of Vidhana Soudha and Cubbon Park. Around 7,000 passes have been distributed and seats have been allocated to film celebrities, government officials and the Puneeth Rajkumar family. Passes will be compulsory needed for entry.

The late actor’s fans and the general public will have free entry to the programme. Around 20,000-30,000 people are expected to participate in the event. Ten LED projectors have been arranged to watch the ceremony.

Preparations at Vidhana Soudha

The police department has deployed more than 1,000 policemen for the event. Traffic police have also been deployed and Ambedkar Veedhi will be closed to traffic between Police Thimmaiah Corner and K R Circle and motorists will have to take alternative routes from 2 pm to 10 pm. The traffic police have instructed public to avoid this road. Parking is prohibited on Ambedkar Road, Infantry Road, Ali Asker Road, Palace Road, Cubbon Road, Raj Bhavan Road, Queen’s Road and Cunningham Road.

Fans of both Dr Rajkumar and Puneeth Rajkumar are gearing up to celebrate the occasion of awarding Puneeth Rajkumar with the Karnataka Ratna award. They will be marching from Freedom Park to Vidhana Soudha. Interestingly, two generations of fans will be involved in the march.