ERODE: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday virtually unveiled a bronze statue of 13th-century Kongu chieftain and farmer icon Kalingarayan at the latter’s birthplace in Vellode in Erode district.
At the inaugural function held in Vellode, minister S Muthusamy, Erode MP K E Prakash, Erode East MLA V C Chandhirakumar, KMDK general secretary E R Eswaran, state BJP’s agriculture wing president G K Nagaraj, and other political party functionaries, farmers, and the public participated.
While addressing reporters, minister Muthusamy said, “Kalingarayan’s statue has been erected in Vellode as per the norms and the guidance of the court. We have done this in gratitude for the good deeds done by him. The demand to include Kalingarayan history in school subjects will be brought to the attention of the CM and appropriate steps will be taken. The government is taking appropriate measures to prevent sewage from mixing in the Kalingarayan canal.”
Kalingarayan, who is hailed as a pioneer of river interlinking, is admired by the farmers of Erode district. He is revered by them for building a check dam across the Bhavani River and also for a 90-kilometre-long canal that now irrigates 16,500 acres of agricultural lands.
The first statue of Kalingarayan was erected in Vellode by farmers and people of his community on January 19, 2007. Recently, it was removed for road-widening work.
The new seven-foot tall bronze statue of Kalingarayan unveiled on Sunday has come up on land purchased for this purpose near the temple of Kalingarayan’s family deity. A library containing books on the history of Kalingarayan and books for competitive exam aspirants has also been set up beneath the statue.
Aside, responding to a question, minister Muthusamy said, “A special committee has been formed on providing relief to farmers affected by the discharge of industrial effluents into the Noyyal River.”