Bangalore: Puttanna Kanagal Theatre to be razed

Puttanna Kanagal Theatre at Jayanagar 4th Block will be demolished and a five-story commercial building, along with two cinema theatres, will be constructed.

Mayor D Venkatesh Murthy and Jayanagar MLA B Vijayakumar on Friday inspected the theatre which is in a bad condition. The mayor said the BBMP has handed over the building to BDA which has prepared a detailed project report and has estimated to take up the work with a cost of `119 crore. The fish market, which was gutted a few years ago, will be rebuilt. A multilevel car parking facility will also be constructed in the premises.

There will be two basement floors for vehicle parking. The building will have a huge auditorium, two theatres and commercial shops. The contract has been given to Nagarjuna Constructions. The BDA will collect the revenue from the building for 15 years and later handover the building to BBMP. The construction of the building will begin next month.

Puttanna Kanagal Theatre, which was built in 1973, was named after the legendary Kannada film director Puttanna Kanagal. Later the theatre was leased to a private organisation which operated it as Poonam Theatre. It has been in a bad condition after the lease period was completed.