Uttarakhand government today decided to install the statue of Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar in the lawns of Haridwar's Mela Bhawan on the bank of the Ganga with Chief Minister Harish Rawat writing a reassuring letter to his TN counterpart in a bid to assuage hurt sentiments.
A team of senior IAS officials sent by Chief Minister Harish Rawat to Haridwar finalised a spot inside the Mela Bhawan lawns where a pedestal is being built to install the statue of the great poet,Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority Vice Chairman Meenaskshi Sundaram told PTI.
The lawn where the statue is being installed is bigger and adjacent to the one where it was kept temporarily, the official said, adding the area is being beautified to hold a glittering function to mark the installation of the statue.
Asked when the installation will take place, Sundaram said the tentative date suggested by the Chief Minister was July 26 but Haridwar district administration is of the view that the ceremonial installation of the statue on July 26 will coincide with the peak of the ongoing Kanwar mela and it would be better to hold the function after the conclusion of the fair on July 31.
"We shall discuss the date with the Chief Minister and do as he instructs us to do. However, in our opinion the first week of August will be the ideal time for this," he said.
Meanwhile, Harish Rawatwrote a reassuring letter to his Tamil Nadu counterpart J Jayalalitha telling her that installing the statue of Thiruvalluvar is his state's proud privilege and it will be done with all the fanfare and dignity that the occasion requires.
"The saint poet from Tamil Nadu has always been a source of great inspiration for people from all walks of life across the country ... It's a proud privilege for Uttarakhand that a statue of the legendary poet is being installed in the holy city of Haridwar.
"People who visit the city from all over the world will now have a chance to get a glimpse of the revered poet," Rawat said in his letter to his Tamil Nadu counterpart.
He hoped that the statue will soon become an integral part of the city and fall in sync with the rest of the places of spiritual and tourist interest spread over it.
With pictures of the ancient Tamil poet's statue lying in a state of neglect in Haridwar causing outrage in the southern state, Rawat sprang into action today sending a team of senior IAS officers to Haridwar to identify a suitable spot inside Mela Bhawan for its installation.
"The Chief Minister wants the process of the statue's installation to be expedited," MDDA Vice Chairman R Meenakshi Sundaram said.
Sundaram who himself hails from Tamil Nadu denied there was any opposition from saints and seers to the installation of the saint poet's statue.
"They were never opposed to installation of Thiruvalluvar's statue. They were opposed only to its location on Har Ki Pairi ghat where only statues of Hindu deities have been installed so far.
"Their apprehension was that installing Thiruvalluvar's statue on the ghat might have given rise to similar demands from different groups following different icons," he said.
The statue is now unwrapped and standing on the Mela Bhavan grounds.
A newspaper picture of the statue wrapped in black plastic sheet and lying in a state of neglect on the Mela Bhawan premises had triggered considerable outrage in Tamil Nadu from where the poet hailed with Chief Minister J Jayalalitha writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to expedite the process of the statue's installation by Uttarakhand's Harish Rawat government.
In an initiative to introduce Northern India to the great literary legacy of the Tamil savant, former BJP MP (Rajya Sabha) Tarun Vijay had decided to bring his 12-foot statue to Haridwar and install it in the city.
The delay in the statue's installation and the initial opposition of the saints and seers of Haridwar to its location is also being attributed to the BJP MP's failure to take them into confidence and familiarise them with the southern saint-poet's great legacy before going ahead with his plan.
"Vijay didn't take the local priests and saints into confidence before his decision to bring Thiruvalluvar's statue to Haridwar. Nonetheless, we have now decided that the statue will be installed at Mela Bhavan," Rawat said adding that he wanted thestatue to be installed within this week.
