MCC to install bronze Ambedkar statue worth Rs. 10 lakh shortly

MCC to install bronze Ambedkar statue worth Rs. 10 lakh shortly

Mangalore Today News Network

Special Report by Shreelatha Nayak

Pics by Ramachandra Bhat Ullal

Mangalore, April 21: The Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) has publicized its intention of installing a statue of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in the premises of the Town Hall, following demands from various authorities for the same.

Dr. Bodhisatva Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, also known as Babasaheb, is the father of the Indian Constitution. His statue, which will shortly be installed in the premises of Town Hall, is made of bronze. It is 7.5ft in height, 368kg in weight, and costs around Rs. 7 lakh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artist B. C. Shivakumar and his team comprising Manju, Murugesh Kumar, Jayaram, and Tulasiram carved this statue in Bangalore. The accessories that accompany the statue cost Rs. 3 lakhs, which means that the city will get a new statue of Ambedkar worth Rs. 10 lakh. The artist team took 6 months to complete the statue, which happens to be the first statue of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar to be carved by this team.

Mr. Shivakumar and his team have carved around 100 statues so far. They have to their credit statues of great personalities such as Kempegowda, Dr. Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan, Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre, Kuvempu, Masthi Venkatesh Iyengar, U. R. Ananthamurthy, Sir M. Vishweshwarayya, and others.

Dr. K. N. Vijayaprakash, the commissioner of MCC, said that he is happy to install a statue of Dr. Ambedkar and thereby satisfy the people’s desire. The statue will be unveiled at a grand programme in a few days.

The tender for the carving of the statue was called for during the tenure of Purandara Das Kuloor, the former mayor of Mangalore. Although the tender was awarded to Mani Nagappa of Tamil Nadu, he left it halfway and a re-tender was called, after which it was given to Mr. Pushparaj Shetty.