Prime Minister Narendra Modi today unveiled the statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda in Bengaluru. Kempegowda is the founder of Bangalore. This statue installed at Kempegowda International Airport is 108 feet high. This statue is Designed by renowned sculptor and Padma Bhushan awardee Ram Vanji Sutar. Congress has raised questions on Kempegowda’s statue. Assembly elections are also going to be held in Karnataka after five months. In this case, this issue can become big. Let us tell you who Nadaprabhu Kempegowda was, what is the controversy related to his statue.
Congress raised these questions on Kempegowda’s statue
Even before the Kempegowda statue was unveiled, politics had started over it. Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar raised the question that why the government money was used to build the statue of Kempegowda? Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) is responsible for the construction of Kempegowda International Airport. In such a situation, BIAL should have borne the cost of the statue of Kempegowda. Let us inform you that apart from the statue of Kempegowda in the airport complex, there is also a theme park built on 23 acres, which is said to cost around Rs 84 crore.
Who was Nadaprabhu Kempegowda?
Nadaprabhu Kempegowda founded Bangalore in 1537. He was the ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is said that in the 15th century, his Kempegowda family migrated from Kanchi in Tamil Nadu to Karnataka and took over the rule of the Vijayanagara Empire. In 1513, Kempegowda got the opportunity to inherit the father’s legacy, which he carried forward to a great extent. He ruled the Vijayanagara Empire for about 46 years. During this time Kempegowda built a beautiful city.
It is mentioned that the idea of setting the city of Bangalore came to Kempegowda during the hunt. Kempegowda went hunting with his minister Veeranna and advisor Gidde Gowda, during which he thought of building a city with forts, cantonments, temples and a large market for trading.
To give shape to this vision, Kempegowda first conquered the princely state of Sivaganga and later on Domlur. Please tell that Domlur is located on the old Bangalore Airport road. Kempegowda built the Bangalore Fort in 1537 and built a city that is still in front of us.
What is special about Kempegowda’s statue?
The 108 feet high statue of Kempegowda in the airport complex remains the center of attraction. Designed by renowned sculptor Ram Vanji Sutar. Let us tell you that it was Sutar who designed the statue of Sardar Patel in Gujarat. The weight of the statue of Kempegowda is 218 tonnes. 98 tonnes of bronze and 120 tonnes of steel have been used in the statue. The weight of the sword of the statue itself is 4 tons. It is said that this is the tallest statue of the founder of a city.
