Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is facing endless hurdles in completing the underground section of Namma Metro. The State Government is cautious about the touchy issue of relocation of the Ambedkar statue located opposite the Vidhana Soudha and if sources in the ministry are to be believed, BMRCL may have to start thinking of alternatives as the statue may not be relocated.
After the State Cabinet failed to take a decision on shifting the statue temporarily to a safe place, Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda was appointed by the cabinet to deal with the issue. “A meeting with ministers and top officials in the Government was held last week to discuss the issue of shifting the Ambedkar statue to allow work on Namma Metro. It was decided not to shift the statue from its current location so BMRCL may have to look for alternatives to carry out the underground work near Vidhana Soudha.
However, the Chief Minister who is dealing with the issue will have to take a final decision on this,” said
Minister for Home and Transport, R Ashok. The statues of Jawaharlal Nehru and Subash Chandra Bose which stood near Ambedkar’s statue have already been shifted to facilitate metro tunnelling work. The shift is temporary as the tunnelling work may cause damage to the statues. But several Dalit organisations are opposed to any shifting, stalling work on the metro since last year. A senior official of BMRCL said the work is six months behind schedule because of the impasse over the statue.