A nine-and-a-half feet tall statue of B.R. Ambedkar installed opposite the Library and Information Science Block in the Manasagangotri campus of the University of Mysore, was unveiled on Sunday. The statue was unveiled by PWD Minister H.C. Maahdevappa, who is also the district in-charge Minister, in the presence of students and staff of the university.
Sculpted by a Hyderabad-based artiste, the statue has a golden hue to it and has cost the university ₹15 lakh. A decision to install the statue was taken in the University Syndicate meeting a few months ago.
The statue has been installed atop a pedestal which is almost 9-feet tall and the ambience surrounding it has been developed by the university complete with landscaping. The plaque adorning the pedestal has quotes by Ambedkar. The campus wore a festive look with festoons even as folk artistes performed dance besides belting out folklore songs. Even Vice-Chancellor in-charge Dayanand Mane broke into a jig and danced with the students who raised slogans in praise of Ambedkar.
Though Chief Minister Mr.Siddaramaiah was supposed to unveil it, there was a last minute change of programme which forced him to skip the event and let Mr. Mahadevappa do the honours .
Meanwhile, Devaraja Urs Bhavan constructed on the premises of the campus was also inaugurated on the occasion.
