Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday (June 27, 2026) said the Karnataka government is considering the “vertical development” of Bengaluru as the city continues to witness rapid growth, stressing that expansion upwards has become inevitable as more people migrate to the city in search of education, healthcare and employment.

Addressing Kempe Gowda Jayanti celebrations organised across Bengaluru, Mr. Shivakumar emphasised that the entire world is looking at Bengaluru today, and the credit for that goes to Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda.

“Five hundred years ago, he (Kempe Gowda) found this city. When he built the city, he could not have imagined that it would grow to this extent. Yet, it is his foresight that has made this growth possible,” he said.

“Bengaluru is growing every day, and its limits continue to expand. We have to think about vertical development,” he said after paying floral tributes to Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda’s statue at Yelahanka.

Before Yelahanka, Mr. Shivakumar launched the celebrations at the 108-foot bronze statue of Kempe Gowda near Kempegowda International Airport. Later in the day, Mr. Shivakumar visited Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout to inaugurate a sapling drive and the S.M. Krishna Road.

Kempe Gowda’s legacy

At the KIA, the chief minister said that the government would prepare an action plan to familiarise visitors with the history and legacy of the city’s founder. He said the airport authority had been instructed to develop facilities around the Trumpet interchange to prominently showcase Kempe Gowda’s contribution to Bengaluru.

The Chief Minister also announced that Kempe Gowda Jayanti would no longer remain confined to Vidhana Soudha but would be celebrated every year in one of Bengaluru’s 28 Assembly constituencies over the next 28 years.

“He was born a Vokkaliga but grew into a ‘Vishwamanava’,” Shivakumar said. “The Bengaluru founder belongs to every community, and his ideals should guide the city’s future development,” he added.

Development

The chief minister said the government has drawn up infrastructure projects worth ₹1.25 lakh crore for Bengaluru and reiterated that the city’s development is central to Karnataka’s progress. He also highlighted his initiatives, including digitisation of property records, implementation of e-Khata and conversion of B-Khata properties to A-Khata to provide legal certainty to property owners.

As part of the celebrations, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) organised a 15-lakh sapling planting drive. In addition, Mr. Shivakumar inaugurated the Major Arterial Road, renamed S.M. Krishna Road, passing through the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout.

Mr. Shivakumar said the government had initiated the acquisition of 10 acres of land near Kempe Gowda’s samadhi at Magadi, with 5.5 acres already purchased. Besides, the government is also undertaking a ₹100-crore comprehensive development of Kempegowda Fort. A town planning college and Kempegowda Bhavan are also being developed in his memory.

“The city has a population of 1.40 crore and has nearly 1.30 crore vehicles. No matter how much we expand the Metro network or strengthen public transport, every person owns a vehicle,” he said. “We are working to provide Metro connectivity to the airport within the next year. Over the next two years, we are planning to expand the Metro network to 500 kilometres, and Minister Krishna Byre Gowda will work on this vision,” he added.