PM Modi unveils 108-feet bronze statue of Bengaluru founder 'Nadaprabhu' Kempegowda
Bengaluru (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday unveiled the 108-feet tall statue of the city's founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, which is the "first and the tallest bronze statue of a founder of a city", as per the 'World Book of Records'.
Called the "Statue of Prosperity", it has been built to commemorate the contribution of Kempegowda towards the growth of Bengaluru.
The statue weighing 218 tonnes (98 tonnes of bronze and 120 tonnes of steel) has been installed at the Kempegowda International Airport here. It has a sword weighing four tonnes.
The project, besides the statue, has a heritage theme park in an area covering 23 acres dedicated to the 16th century chieftain, together costing about Rs 84 crore to the government.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and several of his cabinet colleagues, Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji of Adichunchanagiri Math, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, BJP Parliamentary Board member B S Yediyurappa, former Chief Minister S M Krishna, BJP legislators, officials, among others were present at the event.
Kempegowda, a feudatory ruler under the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire founded Bengaluru in 1537. He is revered, especially by the Vokkaliga community that is dominant in Old Mysuru and other parts of southern Karnataka.
Renowned sculptor and Padma Bhushan awardee Ram Vanji Sutar has designed the statue. Sutar had built the 'Statue of Unity' in Gujarat and the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Bengaluru's 'Vidhana Soudha'.
As a precursor to the unveiling, 'Mruthike' (sacred mud) was collected from over 22,000 locations across the state, which was mixed symbolically with the mud beneath one of the four towers of the statue.
Twenty-one special vehicles collected the sacred mud in villages, towns and cities during the last two weeks.
With the installation of the statue ahead of the Assembly polls next year, a competition of sorts seems to have erupted between political parties to claim credit for the legacy of Kempegowda, aimed at garnering electoral support from the politically dominant Vokkaliga community.
Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah had earlier said the Congress government led by him was the one which had first planned to install the statue of Kempegowda at the airport.
#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils 'Statue of Prosperity', the 108-feet bronze statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, in Bengaluru
— ANI (@ANI) November 11, 2022
(Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/75WLwM4MrY
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Yashasvi Jaiswal wants to continue playing for Mumbai, writes to MCA seeking approval
Mumbai, May 9 (PTI): India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has requested the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to allow him to remain with the domestic giants, a month after asking for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to switch to Goa.
In April, Jaiswal surprised everyone by writing to the MCA to seek its approval for a shock move to Goa. On its part, the MCA too had swiftly approved Jaiswal's request.
PTI is in possession of Jaiswal's email to the MCA in which he said he is available to represent Mumbai in the next domestic season.
"I the undersigned would request your goodself to consider my request in withdrawing my NOC given to me as I had some family plans in shifting to Goa which for now has been curtailed !," Jaiswal wrote.
"So I sincerely request MCA to allow me to play for Mumbai this season! I have not submitted the NOC to BCCI nor to Goa Cricket Association!," he added.
Jaiswal, who moved from Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi to Mumbai as a young player and rose through the ranks to make his debut across formats for India over the last couple of years, was also believed to have shifted to Goa from Mumbai owing to the prospect of becoming their captain.
A packed international calendar perhaps would not have allowed the 23-year-old Jaiswal a lot of time to spend with Goa, but becoming their skipper would have given him some experience in major leadership roles.
The secretary of the Goa Cricket Association, Shamba Desai had earlier confirmed to PTI that Jaiswal would be their captain with the Goa team being promoted from Plate division to Elite ahead of the 2025-26 season.
