BBMP to remove statues of actors, reformers

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is all set to remove 21 statues of Kannada actors, social reformers etc., as per the directions of the High Court of Karnataka.

The court had directed the civic body, city police and traffic police to look into the unauthorised installation of statues and flag posts in public places, which were highlighted in a writ petition.

The authorities were asked to take steps to remove them before the next hearing on September 2. While the BBMP acknowledged that none of the statues or flag poles were set up with permission, the officials were unable to clear them due to public protests.

Most of these statues are of Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Shankarnag along with social reformers like Basaveshwara.

“We have completed the survey of all the listed statues and flag posts, and none of them had any prior permission for installation. However, owing to backlash from the public and fans of the actors, we couldn’t proceed,” said a BBMP official from the West Zone, which has reported the highest number of such illegal statues.

The civic body now wants to take all the stakeholders into confidence and speed up the process of removing the statues. “People just do not understand that they have been installed illegally. Instead, they feel that we are against a few actors. We will convince them before removing the statues and flag posts,” another BBMP official said.

With the HC likely to resume the hearing on Wednesday, BBMP officials are mulling seeking more time, citing non-cooperation by the public. The statues are located in places such as the Bashyam Circle, TR Mill Circle, Balepet Circle, Shivanalli Main Road, Gandhinagar Park Road, Toll Gate Circle in Vijayanagar, Magadi Road in Dasarahalli, Sheshadripuram Circle and Shivanalli Main Road.