Nehru's statue in Palampur faces neglect

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, January 28

The statue of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, installed in the heart of the town is in the state of neglect and needs immediate maintenance.

The statue was installed at Nehru Chowk by the local Lions Club 30 years ago. In the absence of proper upkeep, the statue is in a bad shape.

The Palampur Municipal Council maintained the statue for years but of late it has turned a blind eye to it. The platform of the statue has developed cracks and the statue itself is in a dilapidated condition. No paint, whitewashing or polishing has been done in the past several years.

Senior officers and political leaders of the area, who daily pass through Nehru Chowk, are not concerned about the poor condition of the statue.

A senior officer of the local administration said that the local authorities had no funds for the maintenance of statues. Therefore, their condition had worsened.

He said that even for the repair and replacement of the statues of the martyrs installed in the town, their families and general public had been making contributions. Even for the replacement of the statue of NetaJi Subhas Chander Bose, a local trust headed by Yogi Raj Swami Amar Jyoti had contributed money.

Enquiries revealed that the funds for the repair and maintenance of the statues were released by the state Languages and Culture Department. The Deputy Commissioner’s office had sought funds for the repair of these statues two years ago but no funds had been released till date. Therefore, most of the statues are in the town are in a bad shape.

Caption: The statue of Jawaharlal Nehru in a bad shape.