Statue to come up in new DC Office premises

Mysore/Mysuru: Ending the long wait for the installation of the statue of former Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs in the city, the State Government has granted administrative approval for the installation of the statue of the late former Chief Minister, who hailed from Mysuru district, in the premises of the new Deputy Commissioner’s  (DC) Office on Bannur Road in Siddarthanagar. Government has also released Rs. 92 lakh for the statue.

The Government has released the money (Rs. 92 lakh) to the Mysuru DC through the Kannada and Culture Department and has asked the District Administration to submit the estimated cost and details along with breakup of the cost.

The Government, in its order, said that the released money should be utilised only for the purpose that it is meant for. Also, the audited accounts of the money spent must be submitted to the Government and that the authorities must not send fresh proposals seeking additional grants for the construction of the statue at the site, according to the order issued by S. Geetabai, Under-Secretary, Kannada and Culture Department.

Welcoming the Government’s administrative approval for the construction of the statue, BJP OBC Morcha State President Raghu R. Kautilya, who had also served as the Chairman of D. Devaraj Urs Backward Classes Development Corporation earlier, said that former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa had sanctioned Rs. 92 lakh for the construction of Devaraj Urs statue in front of the new DC Office in Mysuru. But the BJP Government lost power before the project got administrative approval and the Congress Government which came to power, has now accorded administrative approval, he said adding that the construction of the statue must be completed before the late former Chief Minister’s next birth anniversary.