K'taka govt to install 30-ft bronze statue of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari in Bengaluru
The Karnataka government is all set to erect a bronze statue of Kannada taayi (mother Kannada) Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, which is being seen as move to project a pro-Kannada image of the party ahead of the 2023 assembly polls, according to PTI.
The Basavaraj Bommai government in Karnataka plans to erect a bronze statue of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari on the Jnanabharathi campus in Bengaluru, news agency PTI said. Goddess Bhuvaneshwari is considered the deity representing the Kannada identity and is called Kannada Taayi (mother Kannada).
The move to install a Bhuvaneshwari devi statue by the ruling BJP, is being seen as a push to promote an image of pro-Kannada identity ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in 2023.
The project - believed to cost ₹2 crore - will begin in November - the month that hosts Kannada Rajyotsava - and be completed by January, i.e., Sankranti.
The bronze statue will be 30 feet tall and be installed on top of a 10-foot-long platform on which will be carved depictions representing the state's culture.
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The project was announced by V Sunil Kumar, the Kannada and Culture Minister, who said a plot of land measuring half acre will be set aside.
The government has handed the responsibility of designing the statue to the Karnataka Shilpakala Academy. This is the first Goddess Bhuvaneshwari statue to be installed under the sponsorship of the government.
"The statue of Kannada Taayi Bhuvaneshwari has not been installed anywhere so far by the government. So we have taken this decision. I have instructed officials to complete the statue construction work within three months," Sunil Kumar said.
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Kalagrama, the site at which the statue will be installed, is adjacent to the Bangalore University and will be promoted as a tourist destination. Officials have been directed to organise daily programmes at the Kalagrama auditorium.
(With PTI Inputs)