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'Marble statue of Ambedkar to be installed by month-end'Funds released to expedite second phase works for Bhavan: Mahadevappa
DHNS
Last Updated IST
District in-charge and PWD Minister Dr H  C Mahadevappa has said a marble statue of Dr B R Ambedkar will be installed in the Town Hall premises by the end of this month.

He said the first phase of works for the Ambedkar Bhavan have been completed and funds have been released for the second phase. Measures will be taken to complete the works soon, he said.

After offering floral tributes to the statue as part of Ambedkar’s 126th birth anniversary on Friday, Mahadevappa said that Ambedkar’s thoughts and writings contributed towards strengthening the nation. He said the Indian Constitution, as envisaged by Ambedkar, emphasised on the need to eradicate casteism and maintain communal harmony and equality.
Mahadevappa said that as the model code of conduct is still in place, the district administration has organised the celebration in a simple but significant manner.

MLA M K Somashekar, Corporator Purushottam, City Police Commissioner Dr A Subrahmanyeswara Rao, Deputy Commissioner D Randeep, Zilla Panchayat CEO P Shivashankar, Superintendent of Police Ravi D Channannavar and others were also present.
Various organisations, educational institutions, including University of Mysore, celebrated the programme in a significant manner.

After inaugurating the celebration organised by Dr B R Ambedkar Research and Extension Centre UoM, Karnataka High Court former judge Justice H N Nagamohan Das said there is a need to understand democracy in its real form as inequality, casteism, untouchability and social injustice still exist in the country.

Floral tributes
The Hassan district administration too organised grand celebrations to mark the birth anniversary of the Architect of Indian Constitution. District in-charge Minister A Manju paid floral tributes to the statue of Ambedkar in the city. In Mandya too, MLA M H Ambareesh, District in-charge Minister M Krishnappa took part in the programme and paid tributes to Ambedkar. In Chamarajanagar, District in charge Minister U T Khader presided over the programme. Celebrations here were a low-key affair as poll code is in place till April 15 in the wake of the just concluded bypolls for Gundlupet constituency.

Dalits protest
A few Dalits staged a protest against Chamarajanagar district administration for not organising celebrations in a grand manner. The agitators protested at Bhuvaneshwari Circle in the city and raised slogans against the district administration.

The protesters called off the protest after Minister Khader and MP R Dhruvanarayan assured them of celebrating the jayanti in a grand manner before April 30. The minister explained that as model code of conduct is in place, the authorities could not organise the event in a grand fashion.
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(Published 14 April 2017, 23:52 IST)