Believe it or not, the state government would be spending close to Rs 36 lakh just for the mementos to be presented to the dignitaries during the Suvarna Soudha inauguration here on Thursday.
Six dignitaries, including President Pranab Mukherjee, attending the function would get an 8-kg silver statuette of Kittur Rani Channamma each. Refusing to divulge the exact cost of the mementos, a representative of Potadar Jewellers, which was given the work, said each memento cost over `5 lakh just for the silver. If labour cost was added the cost came close to `6 lakh. Over 35 craftsmen took eight days to prepare the mementos, he added.