Vijayapura, June 18: Shoukat Ali Sumbad, a local farmer, has donated land for the construction of Chennamma memorial, modelled on the Kittur fort, at Sindagi town in Vijayapura to celebrate the town's connect with the valorous Lingayat queen who fought the British in 1824.
Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swamiji of Lingayat Panchamasali Peetha Kudala Sangam said Shoukat Ali came forward to donate his land adjacent to the state highway when local authorities failed to provide land for the memorial.
"The committee led by Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swamiji sought a 15x10 plot but when I went through their plan of constructing a model of Kittur fort, I decided to donate 425 sq ft," said the 61-year-old farmer.
"Rani Chennamma is the pride of every Indian, irrespective of caste and creed, and my contribution is nothing compared to her sacrifice for the nation," he added.
Shoukat Ali, who lives in the neighbouring town of Almel, said he is a man of modest means but proud to make the contribution. "I own nine acres of land in Almel. I have six sons and two daughters. Two of my sons run small businesses in Mumbai. Ten of us live in a small house in Almel," he said.
“I also work as a broker to sell or buy sites. I had bought 15 guntas of land in Sindagi for my children some 15 years ago. When our MLA MC Managuli and Swamiji sought land for the memorial, my entire family agreed wholeheartedly” Shoukat Ali said.
“As Chennamma’s history is linked to Sindagi, there has been a demand for a memorial here since 2008, but the town municipal council failed to provide land due to political and technical reasons,” said Swamiji.
“There were plans to observe a Sindagi bandh in the first week of June to protest the indifference of authorities. But then Sumbad gave us his land. We have formed a committee to construct a model of Kittur fort and a bronze statue of Chennamma at a cost of Rs 28 lakh,” he added.
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TERRORIST DNT HAVE ANY RELIGION....
Prahlad Joshi, a mastermind of all Hubli riots and Anjuman ground dispute talking about the statement given by Dinesh Amin a senior writer/Editor and CM's Media advisor is foolish allegation.
There are many examples of the Muslim youths arrests in the past are acquitted by the court in our state and through out India. Recently Mumbai Train blast is another example for this. Mr. Amin is right on his statement and Joshi claim must be ignored.
BJP is always trying to find pebbles in sour milk.
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