Bengaluru International Airport renamed as “Kempe Gowda International Airport”

July 21, 2013

Union Cabinet approved the new name for Bangalore’s Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) to Kempe Gowda International Airport
Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) is the one and the only airport serving the Bangalore region. It is owned by Bengaluru International Airport Pvt. Limited (BIAL) a majority of 74% held by GVK Group, Zurich Airport and Siemens Projects, along with two government bodies, Infrastructure Development Corporation KSIIDC and the Karnataka State Industrial.

Who was Hiriya Kempe Gowda or Bengalooru Kempe Gowda?

Hiriya Kempe Gowda (also Kempe Gowda I or Bengalooru Kempe Gowda) was a ruler under the Vijayanagara Empire.
Considered to be the founder of the metropolis of Bangalore, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka.
Kempe Gowda was a well educated and successful ruler.
Famous for his reformist thinking, he led the foundations of a modern city with successful planning and building the present city building many temples and water reservoirs in Bangalore.
One of his social reforms was to disallow the custom of cutting-off the last two fingers of the left hand of the married women during “Bandi Devaru”, an important custom of Morasu Vokkaligas.