The Udupi District Nirmithi Kendra shifted the top half portion of the Parashurama Statue for strengthening on Saturday, October 14, at the Parashurama Theme Park, Bailoor in Karkala taluk.
It will be shifted to Bengaluru, where the statue was originally crafted, for updating it to the original designed standards, Udupi District Nirmithi Kendra Project Director Arun Kumar told The Hindu on Saturday.
The work on strengthening the statue had come to an abrupt halt from Monday after people protested against the work. A brainchild of V. Sunil Kumar, the then Minister and presently Karkala MLA, the theme park on Ummikal Hills off Karkala, was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in January this year. Defeated Congress candidate in the Karkala Assembly constituency Muniyal Uday Kumar Shetty last month had alleged corruption in the project and said the statue was not fully made of bronze.
Udupi Deputy Commissioner K. Vidyakumari had told The Hindu on Friday that a technical report by Sri Madhwa Vadiraja Institute of Technology and Management had recommended strengthening of the statue after a thorough study. Accordingly, the District Nirmithi Kendra, that had undertaken the project, began the strengthening process. Mr. Sunil Kumar too supported the move.
The foot part of the statue was found to be weak and was incapable of bearing the heavy weight of the statue. To strengthen it, the statue had to be dismantled part by part and initially the head part was removed on Monday.
District in-charge Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar had visited the park last month and said it required to complete a project like a theme park. The work was hastened when the elections were round the corner to mislead people. She would do everything to set right the issue as per the law.
Funds pending
Mr. Arun Kumar said the Tourism Department was yet to release ₹4.5 crore, including ₹2.04 crore cost for statue, to the Kendra. The total cost of the theme park was ₹14 crore, he added.
Install Bronze statue
Meanwhile, defeated Congress candidate from Karkala Assembly constituency Muniyal Uday Kumar Shetty, who visited the site on Saturday, told reporters that the district in-charge minister herself had told it takes at least three years to design a bonze statue.
The Karkala tahsildar had promised him that the statue would be strengthened by November-end. “We do not want any hurriedly done work. Let the government build a complete bronze statue,” he demanded.
