Chennai: Maintaining that the statue of media baron C.P. Adithanar was removed only to develop the traffic island near its location in Egmore, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday said he has instructed officials to ensure that the bust is restored to its original place by next week.
As political parties demanded that the statue be restored by September 27 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Adithanar, Palaniswami said in a statement that a decision to beautify the area near the statue in Egmore was taken by the Chennai Corporation in 2015.
“Since Daily Thanthi (the Tamil daily founded by Adithanar) was maintaining the statue, the Corporation had asked the management of the newspaper to provide a safe place to accommodate the statue. The statue was removed on May 26 and is currently in the possession of Daily Thanthi management. Works on developing the traffic island began on Tuesday,” Palaniswami said.
Since the 112th birth anniversary of Adithanar falls on September 27,
Daily Thanthi management has requested the government to ensure that the work on pedestal is completed as early as possible to install the statue, the Chief Minister said.
“Work is on the full swing. I have order Chennai Corporation officials to ensure that the work on pedestal is completed by September 20. I would also like to say that entire work around the pedestal and the traffic island would be completed by the end of this year,” the CM said.
