VILLUPURAM: Two years after it was damaged in an accident, the statue of Dravidian stalwart and social reformer E V Ramaswamy, popularly known as Periyar, was reinstated in Villupuram, on the 146th birth anniversary of the revolutionary leader on Monday.
The reinstated statue, on Thiru Vi Ka Road near the Head Post Office, was inaugurated by DMK district secretary S Sakkarai, chairperson of the municipal council Kalaiselvi Prabhu and other party cadre.
The statue – first installed at the juncture of Thiru Vi Ka Road and Kamarajar Street – was damaged when a truck hit it during the midnight of January 19, 2022. Several key DMK and Dravidar Kazhagam cadres staged a protest alleging the involvement of right-wing workers in the accident.
However, the statue was not allowed to be reinstated at the exact spot as per the Madras High Court directives to refrain from installing statues on government poromboke lands. Now, the statue has been reinstated in a private land, just a few metres away from the previous spot. Several protests were staged in front of the statue during its 40 years of existence, sources said.
Recalling past incidents, a activist and retired headmaster T Balu said, “Right under the statue, we conducted many protests that spoke for people’s rights and issues, including the Eelam issue. From Vaiko to Udhayanidhi Stalin, they all visited the statue when in town. It is an identity for the spirit of social justice in Villupuram. We are happy it’s back at the same spot.”