BENGALURU: The statue of Sir Mark Cubbon, Commissioner of Mysore in the mid-19th century, is on the move again. Its new home will be Cubbon Park, which is named after him. The statue, located near the back gate of the Karnataka High Court for some years now, will be shifted in front of the bandstand in Cubbon Park within two months.
According to Rajendra Kumar Kataria, principal secretary, horticulture department, there was a long-time request from the High Court to shift the statue, and ever since, the department had been searching for the right place to relocate the statue sans damage. “We needed to decide on the place and also required a group of experts to have it shifted without any damage. The work has been allotted to the Public Works Department (PWD), and we have also given a letter stating that there should be no damage to the park property while carrying out work,” said Kataria.
This is not the first time Sir Cubbon is being moved — the statue was first installed in the Parade Ground in 1866, then moved to the front of Attara Kacheri, and later behind it.
Kusuma G, Deputy Director of Cubbon Park, said that about 20 days ago, they had received orders to have the statue moved. “The orders had come from the High Court and the horticulture department identified the spot in front of the bandstand. The PWD started work a week ago and we were told that it will take about two months for work to be completed. An expert team has been called upon to move the statue.”
Meanwhile, the battle over the relevance of the Cubbon statue continues. Members of the Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association (CPWA) have been celebrating the birth anniversary of Sir Mark Cubbon every year since 2012, by visiting the High Court and garlanding the statue. Now, they are more than happy with the statue being moved.
But a set of protesters which doesn’t wish to see statues of British officers, is demanding the removal of Cubbon’s statue. “Most of the people didn’t know that Mark Cubbon’s statue is located near the back gate of the High Court, where no one was allowed, and now with it being shifted, everyone will know about it. Lord Cubbon’s contribution to the city is immense,” said Umesh Kumar, advocate and CPWA president.