CHENNAI: Iconic actor Sivaji Ganesan’s statue was finally removed from the Marina beachfront in the wee hours of Thursday and shifted to a memorial hall dedicated to the actor at Adyar. The shifting happened following a Madras High Court order, yet it drew criticism from political leaders.
The statue has now been housed in the memorial hall at Durgabai Deshmukh Road. “It would take three or four days to complete the installation of the statue at the memorial,” a senior official in the Information and Public Relations Department told Express.
According to a senior police officer, the statue was shifted between 1 am and 4 am. By 4.40 am, the statue reached the Manimandapam. Nearly 30 police personnel were deployed at the Marina.
The statue was erected on July 12, 2006 during the DMK rule. Over the years, there was criticism that it affected traffic and blocked motorists’ view. The traffic police concurred, saying it did increase the risk of accidents. This prompted the high court in January to order its removal.
The court also refused to consider moving the statue to another location on the Marina promenade as that was an independent petition.
However, the relocation drew widespread criticism. PMK founder S Ramadoss, former TNCC president EVKS Elangovan, VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan and Naam Thamizhar Katchi leader Seeman strongly criticised the action.
In a statement, Ramadoss said: “A new statue of Sivaji Ganesan should be installed between the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Kamarajar on the Marina, on the 90th birth anniversary of the late actor, which falls on October 1.”