Statues to remain at GH Roundabout for now in Erode

Erode Corporation withholds resolution to relocate statues of former leaders after opposition from councillors during council meeting.

The Erode Corporation has withheld a resolution proposing relocation of statues of the State’s former leaders from the GH Roundabout Junction after councillors opposed the move during a council meeting on Friday.

The statues of K. Kamaraj and E.V.K. Sampath, originally erected near the government headquarters hospital, was relocated in 2016 to facilitate flyover construction, which was completed in 2020. As they obstruct traffic, inspections were conducted last year by Minister for Housing and Urban Development S. Muthusamy, the district Collector Raja Gopal Sunkara, and State Highways Department officials. It was decided to move the statues to Corporation Park on Thiyagi Kumaran Road in Sampath Nagar for proper maintenance. Additionally, the civic body received multiple requests to install a statue of freedom fighter ‘Tiruppur’ Kumaran in the city.

On December 26, 2024, the Minister and officials inspected the park and identified suitable locations for all three statues. According to a circular issued on March 26, 2019, by the Commissioner of Revenue Administration and Disaster Management, passing a resolution in the council meeting was mandatory for installing statues. Accordingly, the Collector sent a letter to the Corporation on November 11, 2024. The resolution placed before the council on Friday also referenced a Madras High Court order dated October 7, 2021, regarding relocation of statues.

Ward 16 Councillor E.P. Ravi of the Indian National Congress opposed the relocation of Kamaraj’s statue, and several other councillors also voiced their opposition. Facing strong resistance, the civic body announced that the resolution would be withheld. A senior Corporation official said that until a decision was made, the statues would not be relocated.