In a last ditch effort to prevent relocation of the statue of legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan from Marina promenade to a new memorial coming up near Thiru Vi Ka Bridge at Adyar, a fan of the actor has moved the Madras high court to install the statue at least on the lawns along the beach.
At present the statue is standing tall near Gandhi statue, at the Kamarajar Salai-Dr Radhakrishnan Salai junction. After a PIL took exception to the location, and the Tamil Nadu government too informed the court that it was a road safety hazard and had caused a couple of road accidents as well, the HC granted time till May 31 to relocate it to a memorial. Work on the memorial picked up momentum and it is almost ready, opposite MGR Janaki College.
In the present PIL, K Chandrasekaran, president of Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Samooga Nala Peravai expressed apprehension that the statue might be moved to the memorial any time, and added instead of taking it to Adyar banks, it could be installed alongside other statues on the lawns of Marina. If it is kept next to statues of tall leaders like Kamaraj, it would be a fitting tribute to the actor without infringing the undertaking given by the government to courts. It would also not obstruct the free flow of traffic any way, he said.
January 23, 2014 the high court concluded that the statue on the middle of the road was a hindrance to traffic and hence should be removed.
At present the statue is standing tall near Gandhi statue, at the Kamarajar Salai-Dr Radhakrishnan Salai junction. After a PIL took exception to the location, and the Tamil Nadu government too informed the court that it was a road safety hazard and had caused a couple of road accidents as well, the HC granted time till May 31 to relocate it to a memorial. Work on the memorial picked up momentum and it is almost ready, opposite MGR Janaki College.
In the present PIL, K Chandrasekaran, president of Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Samooga Nala Peravai expressed apprehension that the statue might be moved to the memorial any time, and added instead of taking it to Adyar banks, it could be installed alongside other statues on the lawns of Marina. If it is kept next to statues of tall leaders like Kamaraj, it would be a fitting tribute to the actor without infringing the undertaking given by the government to courts. It would also not obstruct the free flow of traffic any way, he said.
January 23, 2014 the high court concluded that the statue on the middle of the road was a hindrance to traffic and hence should be removed.