BHUBANESWAR: Amid rising protests over relocation of the warrior-horse sculpture from Master Canteen, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday urged the Odisha government to protect the creation of late sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra and integrate it with the ongoing Smart Janpath project.
In a series of tweets, Pradhan said the decision to relocate the statue from Master Canteen has hurt sentiments of many including well-known personalities of the State. “The sculpture is the identity of our glorious past. The State government should protect it and consider execution of the beautification project around Master Canteen square without removing it from the place,” the Union Minister said.
He said that the State government adopted the warrior-horse statue from the famous Sun temple of Konark as part of its official emblem in 1964. Subsequently in 1988, the then Chief Minister of Odisha late JB Patniak erected the replica, sculpted by Mohapatra, at the Station square. Congress workers led by MLA Suresh Routray continued their protest against the move for the second day on Friday.
Eminent sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo also questioned the move of the State government and said that since it is a sandstone sculpture chances are high that it may be damaged during the shifting process. The government should come up with an alternative plan and should not shift the statue from the place, Sahoo said.