Stalin unveils Sivaji Ganesan’s statue in Tiruchi

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin unveils late actor Sivaji Ganesan's statue in Puthur after 14-year wait, amid fanfare and gratitude.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday unveiled the bronze statue of late actor Sivaji Ganesan at Puthur here.

The fans of the actor, who thronged the venue from different parts of Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, and neighbouring districts raised slogans hailing him and Mr. Stalin when he unveiled the statue that faced many hurdles since the installation of it in 2011. The Chief Minister offered floral tributes to the portrait of the thespian.

Minister for Municipal Administration K.N. Nehru, Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Members of Parliament N. Siva and Arun Nehru, family members of Sivaji Ganesan, including actor Prabhu and film producer Ramkumar and the cadres of the DMK and the Congress took part in the function. Mr. Prabhu expressed his gratitude to Mr. Stalin for unveiling the statue.

With the unveiling of the statue, the 14-year wait of the fans of Sivaji Ganesan, who ruled the Tamil tinsel world for five decades, has come to an end. The nine-foot tall statue was originally installed at the roundabout of Palakkarai in the city in 2011 with crowdfunding. However, it could not be unveiled for various reasons. It was kept covered for about 14 years by citing a court ruling against installing statues at public places.

The issue was raised in the recently concluded session of the State Assembly. Mr. Nehru, who responded to the demands of MLAs, informed the Assembly that steps would be taken to install the statue immediately. Days after the assurance, the Tiruchi Corporation passed a unanimous resolution, thereby giving the green signal, to install the statue on Williams Road-Warners Road junction. The statue was subsequently moved from Palakarai to the new location.

Within a few days, Mr. Nehru decided to install it on Puthur-EVR Road at Puthur on a piece of 64.58 sq. ft. of land, which was registered in the name of M. Anbazhagan, secretary, DMK, Tiruchi city as gift deed by Maragatham and her daughter K. Poorani on Monday. He received no-objection certificate from the Commissioner of Police, Tiruchi, and got a resolution passed at the Tiruchi Corporation council. The State government issued a G.O to unveil the statue at Puthur.

Mr. Stalin held a roadshow to meet cadres of the DMK and a large gathering of people, who waited all along the route from TVS Tollgate to the Kalaingar Arivayalam, where he addressed party cadre.