The Hindu : Front Page : Consensus on statue issue likely today

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Monday, Aug 03, 2009
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Consensus on statue issue likely today

Special Correspondent

Bangalore: The State Government is understood to have garnered the support of important political leaders and Kannada protagonists ahead of the all-party meeting convened on Monday to discuss the issue of unveiling the statue of saint poet Tiruvalluvar in Bangalore. The statue is tentatively scheduled to be unveiled on August 9.

In exchange, the Government of Tamil Nadu has agreed to unveil a statue of saint poet Sarvagna at Ayanavaram in Chennai.

Tiruvalluvar’s statue in the vicinity of Ulsoor Lake near the Bangalore Tamil Sangam premises has been kept under wraps for nearly two decades following a controversy.

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi has already arrived in Bangalore and one of the important programmes during his stay here is the unveiling of the statue.

Location

The former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna had agreed to unveil the statue on Sankranti day (January 14) in 2001. Interestingly, this was one of the important conditions of forest brigand Veerappan when he had kidnapped Kannada actor Rajkumar. The location of the statue in Bangalore was earlier planned inside the Ulsoor Lake similar to that of the nearly 130-foot-tall Tiruvalluvar statue in the Indian ocean facing the mainland at Kanyakumari. A statue of Tiruvalluvar in Bangalore was planned by the Bangarappa Government in 1991-92.

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