Unveiling: Tiruvalluvar statue TO be unwrapped after 18 years

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Unveiling: Tiruvalluvar statue TO be unwrapped after 18 years
Kannada activists taken into custody
Bangalore, DH News Service:

Sporadic violence erupted in parts of City on Saturday, as pro-Kannada outfits remained determined to thwart the unveiling of the statue.


Miscreants set two BMTC buses ablaze near the Jambusavari bus stand in Kothanur, in the wee hours of Saturday. The buses, which were parked at the bus stand, were set on fire at 2.30 am. The tyres and seats of the buses were completely gutted.

Incidents of stone-pelting were reported from Mysore Road, Tumkur Road, Kothanur Dinne, Goraguntepalya and the International Airport Road. Movement of vehicular traffic was affected for a while.

Police on Saturday took leaders of various Kannada organisations into preventive custody. Among them were Vatal Nagaraj of the Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha, T A Narayana Gowda of Karnataka Rakshna Vedike and Praveen Shetty, of the KRV’s Shetty faction. The Vedike later issued a statement condemning the arrest, and said they would organise a black flag protest against Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa at the venue on Sunday.

Vehicles stranded

Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on Tumkur Road as pro-Kannada outfits led a massive road blockade. Paying no heed to the repeated appeals to give up their aggressive stand against Tamil Nadu, cadres of the KRV blocked the Road, bringing hundreds of vehicles to halt for nearly four hours.

Police sources said that the road blockade began at about 9 am and the protestors deflated tyres of several trucks. Hundreds of vehicles were lined up on both sides of the road, and the traffic began to clear up only after one pm. The traffic became normal only around 3 pm.

Effigy dumped

The activists of the KRV dropped their plan to burn the effigy of the Chief Minister when they learnt that many of their leaders had already been taken into preventive custody by the police. They dumped the effigy at the circle and took to their heels, even as the cops chased them away.

The preventive arrests continued till late in the night.

Remote unveiling

The unveiling of the Tiruvalluvar statue will be done through remote control. A remote control button will be pressed from RBANMS grounds to unveil the statue at Neelakantan Circle. “The statue will be guarded by plainclothesmen till Kannada poet Sarvajna’s statue is unveiled on August 13 in Chennai,” a police officer said.

Sporadic violence erupted in parts of City on Saturday, as pro-Kannada outfits remained determined to thwart the unveiling of the statue.

Miscreants set two BMTC buses ablaze near the Jambusavari bus stand in Kothanur, in the wee hours of Saturday. The buses, which were parked at the bus stand, were set on fire at 2.30 am. The tyres and seats of the buses were completely gutted.

Incidents of stone-pelting were reported from Mysore Road, Tumkur Road, Kothanur Dinne, Goraguntepalya and the International Airport Road. Movement of vehicular traffic was affected for a while.

Police on Saturday took leaders of various Kannada organisations into preventive custody. Among them were Vatal Nagaraj of the Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha, T A Narayana Gowda of Karnataka Rakshna Vedike and Praveen Shetty, of the KRV’s Shetty faction. The Vedike later issued a statement condemning the arrest, and said they would organise a black flag protest against Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa at the venue on Sunday.

Vehicles stranded

Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on Tumkur Road as pro-Kannada outfits led a massive road blockade. Paying no heed to the repeated appeals to give up their aggressive stand against Tamil Nadu, cadres of the KRV blocked the Road, bringing hundreds of vehicles to halt for nearly four hours.

Police sources said that the road blockade began at about 9 am and the protestors deflated tyres of several trucks. Hundreds of vehicles were lined up on both sides of the road, and the traffic began to clear up only after one pm. The traffic became normal only around 3 pm.