Congress leaders in Karnataka have warned of staging a protest if the statue of former MP U Srinivas Mallya is removed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) without finding a suitable place for its relocation. The statue may need to be shifted to facilitate the construction of a service road at Nanthoor, part of the NHAI’s ongoing work on a vehicular overpass.
At a joint press conference held at Congress Bhavan, Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee (DCC) president K Harish Kumar and former MLA J R Lobo urged NHAI officials to provide details of their relocation plans. Harish Kumar emphasized that Mallya played a key role in securing major development projects for the region, including the Mangaluru Airport, New Mangalore Port, NITK (formerly Karnataka Regional Engineering College), Mangaluru Akashvani, and the development of numerous bridges and roads.
The statue was erected to honor Mallya’s contributions to the district, and the Congress leaders insisted that it should be relocated with due respect. J R Lobo, highlighting Mallya’s role as the first elected Member of Parliament in 1952, called him the founder of modern Dakshina Kannada. Lobo clarified that the Congress is not opposed to the National Highway development but urged the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC), district administration, and NHAI to identify a respectful and suitable location for the statue’s relocation.
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