Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday launched a campaign to collect soil from all the villages in a symbolic gesture of unity, for developing the 23-acre theme park that will house the 108-feet bronze statue of Bengaluru founder Kempe Gowda, on the premises of Bengaluru International Airport.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Bommai said the statue would be unveiled in about two months by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will visit Bengaluru to inaugurate the second runway of BIAL.
Praising then chieftain Kempe Gowda, the Chief Minister said, “Kempe Gowda did not confine himself to the routine responsibilities of a chieftain, but tried to build the lives of people by building hundreds of lakes”.
“In fact, what he founded was not just a city, but modern civilization,” he said. “He helped several small communities that specialised in various professional trades to prosper by building a conducive environment for them within Bengaluru.”
The main intention behind unveiling his statue and developing a theme park was to help the new generation remember history.
Speaking to reporters after the programme, Higher Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan, who is also vice-president of the Kempe Gowda Development Authority that is entrusted with the responsibility of installing the statue, said the proposed park will have a total extent of 23 acres.
Of these, the development in the first phase will involve 3 acres and 35 guntas to be taken up at a cost of ₹10 crore. The remaining extent of the park would be developed at a cost of ₹10 crore in the second phase, he said.
Lalbagh too will have a statue of Kempe Gowda
Lalbagh too will have a statue of Kempe Gowda in addition to the one coming up in the premises of Bengaluru International Airport, according to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Yet another statue of Kempe Gowda will also come up at the Vidhana Soudha.
The chief Minister also said that four satellite towns would be built on the Bengaluru city outskirts, while a separate masterplan would be drawn for the development of Devanahalli.
