The old Devaraj Urs statue, which did not resemble him, was replaced today by a new statue sculpted by Mysuru’s sculptor Arun Yogiraj of Balak Ram idol-fame 

Mysuru: A statue of former Chief Minister late D. Devaraj Urs, which was earlier installed at new Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) office premises in Siddarthanagar, was replaced by a nine-feet tall new statue sculpted by renowned sculptor of city, Arun Yogiraj of Ayodhya Sri Ram Mandir’s Balak Ram idol-fame, today. 

The statue of Urs, installed earlier, had triggered a controversy, as it bore no resemblance to the late leader. The then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had unveiled the statue on Nov. 3 last year, had also expressed his reservation, for the statue looking totally different than that of Urs.  

Old statue breaks 

The old statue, removed and lifted with the help of a crane, however, fell down and broke, even as the workers involved watched helplessly.  

The statue had been sculpted at a cost of Rs. 92 lakh. Several elected representatives, family members of Urs and members of the public too had expressed their disappointment over the statue.  

Yaduveer had recommended… 

Mysuru-Kodagu MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar had recommended to carry out necessary modifications,  to ensure better resemblance of the former Chief Minister. 

Following this, the District Administration had decided to install a new statue of Devaraj Urs and this time, the job of sculpting the new statue was entrusted to Arun Yogiraj. 

Divine blessings 

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Arun Yogiraj said “I did home work to study about the personality of Urs, who was also a wrestler in his prime. The statue was carved out of black stone. After completing the work, the statue was shown to the family members of Urs, who expressed their satisfaction,” added Arun Yogiraj, who attributed the successful completion of the work to divine blessings.