BENGALURU: Thousands of visitors who came to see the 108-foot-tall ‘Statue of Prosperity’ of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda at KIA were disappointed during the weekend, as the authorities refused to let them anywhere near the statue. People have been eager to see the statue that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and has entered the record books for being the tallest structure erected for the founder of a city.
Villagers from surrounding areas and different parts of Bengaluru arrived at the Kempegowda International Airport on Saturday and Sunday to go near the statue, but gates were shut and they were not let in. Emotions ran high and they shouted slogans against the authorities.
The enthusiastic crowd was so big that traffic near the airport was affected as vehicles were parked for a long distance along the airport compound wall and there were no policemen to control the movement of vehicles. Some enthusiasts were seen taking a selfie with the statue in the distance as the backdrop.
‘Is the statue only for netas?
Niranjan VK, a resident of Basavanagudi, said, “I went out on a weekend drive and wanted to see the statue up close. But the authorities had closed the gates and were forcing the public to leave the premises. I was upset.
Later, I went to Nandhi Hills. Chandrakala Gopinath, who came from Banaswadi along with her two children, said, “The government spent crores of rupees to build this statue. What is the purpose if people are not allowed to see it? Is it meant only for politicians?”
A police officer from the KIA police station said, “We don’t know if the area around the statue is being maintained by KIA or BBMP. We haven’t deployed police. The public may be allowed after some days.”