<p>The bronze busts of three renowned military commanders from Karnataka carved for installing on the premises of the Kargil Stupa in Dharwad are gathering dust at the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) zonal office for the past seven years.</p><p>In 2017, the HDMC decided to install 2.5-feet-high and 2-feet-wide bronze busts of Field Marshal K M Cariappa, General K S Thimayya, and General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor, along with a national emblem of similar size near the Kargil Stupa. The HDMC had sanctioned Rs 10 lakh for the creation of these statues. Artists from Mumbai sculpted and delivered the statues to the corporation. Thus the busts were readied as per the plan but they were not installed. </p><p>According sources, the inauguration was initially scheduled for January 28, 2018. However, since government permission is mandatory for installing statues of prominent leaders in public spaces, the process got stalled. What's more surprising is that even after all these years, no proposal has been sent to the state government to seek this approval, the sources said.</p><p>North Karnataka Soldiers’ Welfare Committee president Chandrashekhar Aminagad, who was instrumental in seeing up Kargil Stupa in memory of Kargil victory, expressed regret that despite approaching HDMC and urging elected representatives, there has been no progress on installing these statues.</p><p>"If the statues were not meant to be installed, why spend Rs 10 lakh of public money on them? Why are they lying idle in a zonal office? At the very least, could they not be temporarily placed at the deputy commissioner's office to offer them some respect?” he questioned.</p><p>Aminagad pointed out that neither he nor the office-bearers of the committee are soldiers or ex-servicemen, but are patriots. It was in this spirit that India’s first Kargil memorial was established in Dharwad in 2002. Since then, several welfare programmes have been organised for serving and retired soldiers. Had the statues of these military commanders also been installed, the site would have gained historical significance. He expressed concern about when the state government would finally approve the installation.</p><p>Reacting to this, Mayor Jyoti Patil said that the installation of busts has been delayed due to the need approval from the state government. "Ideally, this approval should have been sought back in 2017. The matter will now be raised in the upcoming July general body meeting, and a letter will be sent to the state government so that the statues can be installed at the earliest," the mayor said.</p>
<p>The bronze busts of three renowned military commanders from Karnataka carved for installing on the premises of the Kargil Stupa in Dharwad are gathering dust at the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) zonal office for the past seven years.</p><p>In 2017, the HDMC decided to install 2.5-feet-high and 2-feet-wide bronze busts of Field Marshal K M Cariappa, General K S Thimayya, and General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor, along with a national emblem of similar size near the Kargil Stupa. The HDMC had sanctioned Rs 10 lakh for the creation of these statues. Artists from Mumbai sculpted and delivered the statues to the corporation. Thus the busts were readied as per the plan but they were not installed. </p><p>According sources, the inauguration was initially scheduled for January 28, 2018. However, since government permission is mandatory for installing statues of prominent leaders in public spaces, the process got stalled. What's more surprising is that even after all these years, no proposal has been sent to the state government to seek this approval, the sources said.</p><p>North Karnataka Soldiers’ Welfare Committee president Chandrashekhar Aminagad, who was instrumental in seeing up Kargil Stupa in memory of Kargil victory, expressed regret that despite approaching HDMC and urging elected representatives, there has been no progress on installing these statues.</p><p>"If the statues were not meant to be installed, why spend Rs 10 lakh of public money on them? Why are they lying idle in a zonal office? At the very least, could they not be temporarily placed at the deputy commissioner's office to offer them some respect?” he questioned.</p><p>Aminagad pointed out that neither he nor the office-bearers of the committee are soldiers or ex-servicemen, but are patriots. It was in this spirit that India’s first Kargil memorial was established in Dharwad in 2002. Since then, several welfare programmes have been organised for serving and retired soldiers. Had the statues of these military commanders also been installed, the site would have gained historical significance. He expressed concern about when the state government would finally approve the installation.</p><p>Reacting to this, Mayor Jyoti Patil said that the installation of busts has been delayed due to the need approval from the state government. "Ideally, this approval should have been sought back in 2017. The matter will now be raised in the upcoming July general body meeting, and a letter will be sent to the state government so that the statues can be installed at the earliest," the mayor said.</p>