Now, Lake View Road becomes Basanta-Sarala Birla Sarani

KOLKATA: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Wednesday officially renamed Lake View Road in south Kolkata after the late business icon and his philanthropic wife Basant Kumar (BK) Birla and Sarala Birla respectively.

Artist Subhaprasanna, who is a member of the Road naming committee of KMC, and the Chairman of West Bengal Heritage Commission said that the Lake View Road till the crossing of Anil Roy Road Road has been christened as Basanta- Sarala Birla Sarani while the rest of the road will continue to be named after leading Rabindra Sangeet exponent Ashoketaru Bandyopadhyay.

"The renaming has been undertaken as a mark of respect to the contribution of late BK Birla and her wife for their enormous contribution to the field of culture in the city. We hope it is a befitting tribute to BK Birla on his 100th birth anniversary this year," Subhaparasana said.

Firhad Hakim, Chairman of Board of Administrators KMC said the proposal for renaming the road was placed by Subhaprasnna to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who immediately instructed him to take necessary steps in this regard.

Hakim recollected some occasions when BK Birla showed his philanthropic side by helping people in distress.

"There have been several instances when BK Birla has selflessly extended support to the people in distress. It is a small tribute to acknowledge his contribution," added Hakim.

BK Birla was a patron of nearly 25 educational institutions across the country like BITS Pilani, Birla Institute of Liberal Arts and Management Science , Birla Institute of Management Technology in Delhi, Ashok Hall Girl's School in Kolkata to name a few.