State for naming airport after Kempegowda

The Karnataka Cabinet today decided to recommend to the Centre to name the Bengaluru International Airport after the city founder Kempegowda.

There have also been various demands from sections of people calling for the renaming of the airport after Tipu Sultan.

It also decided to name the 64-km stretch on the NH-4 Bangalore-Tumkur Road, between Mekhri Circle (in Bangalore city) to Kyatsandra (Tumkur district), after revered pontiff of the Tumkur-based Siddaganga Matt, Shivakumara Swamiji, official sources said.

The cabinet resolved to take an all party delegation to Centre seeking amendment to Article 371 of the constitution for according special status to the backward Hyderabad-Karnataka region of the state. The Hyderabad-Karnataka region consists of Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Koppal and Bellary districts.

The cabinet also decided to come out with Karnataka Regulation and Control of Stone Crushers bill, sources said. The Cabinet okayed a proposal to regularise the services of the more than 500 teachers of Morarji Desai schools who were on contract.

Acharya Group of Institutions was given the nod to start a medical college, while Saptagiri medical college here was allowed to raise its number of MBBS seats from 100 to 150.