Modi likely to inaugurate 108-foot bronze statue of Kempegowda next month

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to inaugurate the 108-foot bronze statue of Bengaluru’s founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda next month, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday directed officials to make necessary arrangements for the event.

The Prime Minister will also be inaugurating the Kempegowda theme park which has been developed near the international airport here.

According to official sources, the inauguration is likely on November 10 and the event is likely to attract lakhs of people.

Bommai today chaired a meeting of the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Heritage Area Development Authority and took stock of the inauguration plans.

The statue weighing 220 tonne is being installed at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here at an expense of about Rs 85 crore. There will also be a heritage park in about 23 acres dedicated to the 16th century chieftain.

Ahead of the grand unveiling of the statue authorities had launched a unique campaign of collecting the ”sacred” mud and water from all the villages of the state.

Renowned sculptor and Padma Bhushan awardee Ram Vanji Sutar has designed the statue at his Nodia studio. Sutar had built the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat and the statue of ‘Gandhiji’ in Bengaluru’s Vidhana Soudha.