Dillydallying over statue shifting denting BMRCL coffers

It seems that there is no end to the controversy surrounding the shifting of the Dr B R Ambedkar statue which has become a major hurdle in carrying out Namma Metro works in front of the Vidhana Soudha.

Sources in the State government told Deccan Herald that officials of Social Welfare department were postponing the statue shifting citing one or the other reason. However, for the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), the delay has turned into a major headache as they are losing money with every passing day

A high-level meeting held on Wednesday, to identify the place to relocate the statue of Dr B R Ambedkar to facilitate Namma Metro work, failed to arrive at a conclusion. A senior official who attended the meeting said there seems to be political pressure on the Social Welfare and PWD departments regarding the statue shifting.

While an official from Social Welfare department cited upcoming Ambedkar Jayanthi (April 14) as a reason to postpone the statue shifting, another official said it takes time to finalise the new location.

The official said the State government was in a mood to push the discussion for a few more weeks so that the model code of conduct for the Assembly polls gets enforced.

This would give a strong reason for the state government to postpone the statue shifting for a longer time. Also, after the elections, the new government would take its own time to decide on statue shifting.

A senior official from the BMRCL said if the statue is not shifted soon, it would be a tough task for their workers to carry out the work at Vidhana Soudha station. Also, the contractor might re-deploy the men and machines if the government decides to shift the statue after the elections. The delay would cause a loss of not less than Rs 200 crore to the BMRCL, he added.