BSY unveils 11-ft. tall statue of Akkamahadevi in city

Mysore/Mysuru: With resource mobilisation taking a nosedive due to COVID-19 pandemic for last 10 months, the size of Karnataka Budget for the year 2021-22 will be smaller, said Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

Talking to reporters on his arrival at Mysore Airport in Mandakalli to participate in a slew of programmes in city this morning, he said the size of the State Budget last year was Rs. 2.37 lakh crore, which  would be reduced this year due to the impact of Coronavirus on the State economy.

No dearth of funds

Ruling out dearth of funds to deal with COVID-19 pandemic, Yediyurappa said the contagion had decreased by almost 90 percent in the State. But, there was no shortage of funds to provide COVID-19 treatment, he noted.

District Minister S.T. Somashekar accompanied the CM from Bengaluru to Mysuru.  MP Pratap Simha, MLAs, S.A. Ramdas and L. Nagendra, former MLC C.H. Vijayashankar, Zoo Authority of Karnataka Chairman L.R. Mahadevaswamy, City BJP President T.S. Srivatsa, Karnataka State Safai Karmachari Commission Chairman M. Shivanna and others were present at the Airport.

Akkamahadevi Statue

Chief Minister Yediyurappa called upon people to emulate the preachings of Akkamahadevi, a poetess, who fought against exploitation of women in the 12th century.

He was speaking after unveiling the 11-ft tall and 980- kg bronze Statue of Akkamahadevi at J.P. Nagar in city, installed under the aegis of J.P. Nagar Sharana Vedike this morning.

The CM said that Akkamahadevi was the first poetess and one among the prominent faces in Sharana Chaluvali that took place nearly 800 years ago. She has enriched Kannada Vachana Sahitya through her writings and created social awakening by propagating women empowerment. One of her popular Vachanas “Bettadamelondu Maneya Maadi” has a lot of philosophical meaning which was relevant even today. “Akka involved herself in Kalyana Kranthi and was in forefront of Sharana Chaluvali,” he noted.

Stressing on purity of atma, both inner and outer, Yediyurappa said Akkamahadevi advocated Atma Kalyana, Jana Kalyana and Loka Kalyana. She denounced the worldly life at an early age and embraced Veerashaivism to popularise Sharana Chaluvali along with other Sharanas like Basavanna and Allamaprabhu. 

In recognition of her rich contribution to Kannada Sharana Sahitya, the State Government was developing Udutadi in Shivamogga District, the birth place of Akkamahadevi, at a cost of Rs. 30 crore. In fact, Shivamogga district has given birth to several Sharanas including Allamaprabhu. 

“Our Government has taken up development of the birth places of all leading Sharanas across the State with the help of donors in order to popularise their works. The Government was also developing Basava Kalyana, the birth place of Basavanna, in Bidar district at a cost of Rs. 500 crore and the foundation was laid recently. The works were going on under the supervision of Basavaraja Patil Sedam, former Rajya Sabha Member,” he added.

Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji, District Minister S.T. Somashekar and MLA S.A. Ramdas also spoke. On the occasion, Ramdas feted 24 meritorious students. MP Pratap Simha, Veerashaiva Lingayat Development Corporation Chairman G.S. Paramashivaiah, Sri Chidananda Swamiji of Hosamutt, MLAs L. Nagendra, G.T. Devegowda and Tanveer Sait, Zoo Authority of Karnataka Chairman L.R. Mahadevaswamy, MUDA Chairman H.V. Rajeev, D. Devaraj Urs Backward Classes Development Corporation Chairman R. Raghu Kautilya, MyLAC Chairman N.V. Phaneesh, University of Mysore VC Prof. G. Hemantha Kumar and others were present.