AIADMK agree to shift leaders’ statues in Gudiyattam

VELLORE: An amicable settlement was reached between AIADMK functionaries, led by Gudiyattam town secretary JKN Palani, and revenue and highways officials following talks in the presence of RDO S Subbulakshmi to move the statues of former chief ministers, Annadurai, MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, from near the Kamaraj Bridge to another location to enable road widening work, on Friday evening.

As the Kamaraj Bridge connecting both banks of the Kaundanya Mahanadhi suffered heavy traffic congestion whenever the river overflowed over the causeway during rains, the government-sanctioned a total of Rs 45 crore for the construction of a high-level bridge across the river, building a retaining wall from Thazhayatham to the Sempalli Road junction and for the removal of encroachments on this stretch to ensure widening of the existing road to accommodate the increasing traffic.

It was then that the issue of moving the statues came up as space was needed for the construction of a traffic roundabout.

After removing encroachments on Friday morning, the officials concerned wanted to move the statues, and AIADMK cadres led by Palani demanded an alternate site. Then talks were held in the Gudiyattam RDO office in the presence of police and revenue officials where Palani suggested that they be allotted a site near a private theatre on other side of the Kamaraj bridge.

When this was okayed by officials, work started the same night at an estimated Rs 6 lakh to erect the full-length statues of MGR and Jayalalithaa with a smaller bust of Anna in the middle. Revealing this to DT Next, Palani said, “Jayalalithaa inaugurated MGR’s statue when she came for poll campaigning in 1989 while the party installed Jayalalithaa’s statue in 2017 after her demise even before her statue was erected at the party headquarters in Chennai. We want to ensure that the statues are installed at the new venue soon so that the same can be inaugurated by AIADMK general secretary Edapadi K Palanisami when he comes to campaign for the ensuing parliamentary polls.”