A final decision on installing a statue of Sangolli Rayanna will be taken on Saturday after Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa holds a meeting with community leaders in Belagavi, district in-charge Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi said here on Thursday.
Mr. Eshwarappa is scheduled to visit Peeranwadi village and speak to local groups that are demanding the installation of the statue at the Y Junction on the National Highway.
Mr. Jarkiholi said that there was no dispute over whether the statue should be set up in the village or not.
The only dispute is about the exact place. That will be decided on Saturday, he said. Before that, he will talk to all leaders in the district, including his brother and KPCC working president Satish Jarkiholi, he said.
Mr. Jarkiholi met some representatives of Kuruba community organisations in Belagavi on Thursday to resolve a dispute over the installation of a Sangolli Rayanna statue in Peeranwadi village.
He denied that Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa had assured of installing the statue at a site chosen by the associations.
He has not given any such assurance. At least, he has not given me any such instruction. He has only told me to find a solution that is in the interest of the community and the district, he said.
He said that he would announce the statue installation after a meeting with officers. Community leader Vivek Rao Patil and others accompanied Mr. Jarkiholi.
Members of Sangolli Rayanna Yuva Sene and other organisations took out a march in Belagavi on Thursday, demanding installation of statues of the 19th century freedom fighter in front of the Suvarna Soudha here and in Peeranwadi village.
They walked from the Suvarna Soudha to the Deputy Commissioner’s office in the city, a distance of about nine kilometres. Mr. Hiremath, however, met them near the Suvarna Soudha and received a memorandum from their leaders.
