Statue stalls Bangalore Metro work

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has no option but to wait for the state government to take a decision on moving the statue of Dr Ambedkar Bhavan from Vidhana Soudha premises. Presently, the Metro station construction work in that area is stalled.  BMRCL will suffer a 6-8 month delay and the cost could go up by Rs 200 crore if the statue is not  moved soon.

“The easiest way to go about the construction near Vidhana Soudha is through blasting. We need to blast rocks that are about 820 metres deep and this kind of work is likely to affect the Ambedkar Statue inside the premises of Vidhana Soudha,” said N Sivasailam, managing director, BMRCL. The state government is reluctant to shift the statue because Dalit organisations have                reportedly protested against moving the statue from the premises of Vidhana Soudha.

It is believed that when the design of the Metro station in front of Vidhana Soudha was planned, it was decided to move the statues of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Subash Chandra Bose and Dr B R Ambedkar from the Vidhana Soudha premises. The shifting of these statues, however, would be temporary and the statues would be reinstated after the construction work is complete. While the statues of Nehru and Bose have been moved out, moving the Ambedkar statue is now surrounded by controversy.

BMRCL will suffer a 6-8 month delay and the cost could go up by Rs 200 crore if the statue is not removed soon.

The government has been unsuccessful in persuading Dalit groups to allow the statue to be shifted. But BMRCL, with no other choice, is hopeful that the government will consider the matter.

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