Karnataka: PM Modi To Unveil 108-Feet Kempegowda Statue At Bengaluru Airport On Nov 11

The theme park at KIA will be developed in two phases and the first phase will be completed over a period of nine months.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be unveiling a 108-feet bronze statue of Bengaluru's Founder Kempegowda at the international airport on November 11, Karnataka Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said on Wednesday. The statue weighs 220 tonnes and costs Rs 85 crores.

Apart from the statue, a heritage park covering 23 acres of land will also be established for the Chieftain of the 16th century. Narayan, who is the Vice-Chairperson of Kempegowda Heritage Area Development Authority, said that as part of the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda drive, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will flag off vehicles from Vidhan Soudha’s grand steps on October 21 and these vehicles will travel to 31 districts and cover several villages in the southern state to collect the sacred soil and water.

As per reports, the theme park at KIA will be developed in two phases and the first phase will be completed over a period of nine months. For this purpose, Rs 20 crore has been sanctioned, the minister stated.

He said, "The campaign will run till November 7 and during this period, vehicles named as 'Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Ratha' will collect the sacred mud from across all the districts of the state. The sacred mud thus collected will be used during the unveiling of the 108-feet statue of the Bengaluru founder by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 11," news agency PTI quoted Narayan as saying.   

According to the minister, district-level committees have been constituted to look after the campaign. The CEOs of the zilla panchayats in each district will serve as the committee's nodal officers.

Narayan further said that the drive will include participation from writers, progressive farmers, self-help group members, senior citizens, milk producers' federations, and industrial organisations.

It is to be noted that the statue has been designed by Padma Bhushan awardee and a highly-renowned sculptor Ram Vanji Sutar. He has also built the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel's 'Statue of Unity' as well as Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Vidhan Soudha, Bengaluru.

(With inputs from PTI)