108-foot statue of Kempegowda to be unveiled by PM in Karnataka: Basavaraj Bommai

Bengaluru, Oct 21: Calling the 108-foot statue of Bengaluru's founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 11 as "Statue of Prosperity," Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said the statue would be an inspiration for development of the State.

The Chief Minister on the steps of Vidhana Soudha here today launched the 'Mruthike' (sacred mud) collection campaign as a prelude to unveiling the statue.

"This statue has been built to strive for the continuous development of the state. The signs of good days for Karnataka are seen from this statue. It would give the confidence of building 'Nava Bharath ' (New Bharat) through 'Navakarnataka' (New Karnataka)," Bommai said.

"The future will be dull if we forget the history and it is our duty to show respect to the kings who built this state. Buddha, Basavanna and Mahaveera were basically administrators but they reformed for the welfare of people through spirituality. But Kempegowda stayed amidst the people and built the lives of people," he said.

The Chief Minister said with a view to making the life and achievements of Kempegowda the source of inspiration for the people, the sacred mud from all over the State is being brought to mix it in the statue.

"The idea behind this is to ensure that his inspiration is found in very minute particles. While the America's Statue of liberty symbolises liberty, the Statue of Unity (in Gujarat) marks unity, the statue of prosperity (here) is the mark of prosperity," he said.

Kempegowda has built the city that is considered beautiful by keeping the tanks as the basis, Bommai said adding that the city is situated 3,000 feet above sea level and has pleasant climatic conditions.