Garlanding of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the town to mark his birth anniversary turned into a big task for political leaders and officials on Monday as the eight-foot statue on a 10-foot high pedestal remained inaccessible as the organisers arranged neither a ladder nor a staircase at the venue.
The recently erected Gandhi statue behind the I-Town police station replacing a four-decade-old one has a park around it, but the thought of arranging a staircase at the statue seemed to have not occurred to the civic authorities, and its patron, local MLA D.A. Satyaprabha. Gandhi Jayanti on Monday brought the first occasion for the public to garland the statue since its installation.
Near fall
The leaders including Industries Minister N. Amarnath Reddy, MP N. Siva Prasad, MLAs and MLCs and Collector P.S. Pradyumna arrived at the venue and a heap of garlands was brought close to the statue. However, in the absence of a ladder, the leaders stood there helpless for a while looking at the statue above them. The organisers then managed to get two stools. Mr. Amarnath Reddy and MLC B.N. Rajasimhulu tried to reach the statue by getting on the stools but lost balance and almost fell before the officials and other people around rushed to their help.
Later, with great difficulty, the leaders and officials mounted the pedestal and garlanded the Mahatma.
