Gandhi statue to take shape near Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha

A bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi to be installed at the State legislature between Vidhana Soudha and Vikasa Soudha, will tower 21 feet high. The compeletion of statue is expected to take four to five months.

Legislative Council Chairperson D H Shankarmurthy, who heads the committee which has been given the responsibility of completing the project, briefed reporters on its progress after the committee’s second meeting with Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Thursday.

The Tirthahalli-based artist B D Jagadish has been tasked with sculpting the statue, which will be set in meditative position, similiar to the statue in Parliament. The foundation stone for the project will be laid on October 2. A 15-foot tall pedestal for the colossus is due to be built by the Public Works Department, Shankarmurthy added.

He explained that while the statue in New Delhi is 16 ft tall, the committee decided that the new statue should be taller and prominently visible from both legislative buildings.
Jagadish, scheduled to visit Delhi to make notes on Parliament’s Gandhi statue, said that creating a 21-foot statue normally takes at least two years.

“But I have been given just four to five months to do it. It is going to be challenging to complete the project in time,” he said. A well-established painter and sculptor, Jagadish has sculpted as many as 15 statues around the world, including the Kuvempu statues in Shimoga, Bangalore (in front of Freedom Park) and in Delhi.

He has also created contemporary art forms that are currently on display in France, Iran, the US, and Russia.

Currently working out of a workshop in Banashankari in the City, Jagdish revealed that he would have to set up a new workshop for the project — considering its massive proportions.

While the committee has made no revelations about the cost of the statue, Jagadish estimated that it could cost at least Rs 60 lakh.

Leader of the Opposition in the Council S R Patil, JD (S), legislators M C Nanaiah and Veeranna Mattikatti, were present during the meeting.