‘108-ft Kempegowda statue made in Noida to be ready by 2022’

Noida, Feb 6 : Karnataka Vokkaliga community’s icon and founder of Bengaluru city, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda’s 108-feet tall bronze statue, which is being made in Noida and will be installed in front of Kempegwoda International Airport in Bengaluru, will be ready by next year, Deputy Chief Minister C. N. Ashwathnarayan said here on Saturday.
Ashwathnarayan, who accompanied Vokkaliga community’s seer Swami Nirmalanadanatha of Adichuchanagiri Matha to review the progress of the preparatory stage of the work done with regard to the statue, told the reporters here, “The work got delayed due to Covid-19 pandemic. The statue will be ready by next year. The expenses will be Rs 85 crore.” He added that the foundation stone of the project was laid last year. “The statue will be installed in a 23-acres heritage park that will come up at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru,” he said.
Renowned sculptor and Padma Bhushan awardee Ram Vanji Sutar is designing the statue at his Nodia studio.
Sutar is the one who has built the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat and the statue of ‘Gandhiji’ in Vidhana Soudha premises in Bengaluru.
Apprising his work to the seer and Ashwathnarayan, Sutar said that the statue is being designed in three stages – head, chest and lower portion – separately.