HUBBALLI: The locals in Hampi are demanding the return of a statue that was taken to the Chennai Museum during British rule.
The locals are also requesting the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to establish a statue of Vittala inside the Vijaya Vittala temple complex, as it has remained without a statue for several hundred years.
The members of the public welfare association called Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority (HAWAMA) in Hampi have put forward two demands.
The 14th-century statue of Lord Krishna, which was in the temple of Bala Krishna in Hampi, was shifted to the Egmore Museum in Chennai by the British. The locals have been demanding to list out the statues that were originally from Hampi and are now located in different museums in India.
Virupakshi V, president of the association, said that the ASI has agreed to put forward its demands to the central government. “Recently, a statue has been discovered in Maharashtra, and it has a Hampi connection. Similarly, the statue of Bala Krishna, which is in the Chennai Museum, has details of its original site and the era. We are demanding that the statue be in the Hampi museum. Though the statue is partially broken, the fine carving of the face of Lord Krishna is worth a sight,” he said.
“The ASI has assured that efforts will be made to bring back the statue of Bala Krishna from the Chennai Museum. Installing the statue inside Vijaya Vittala Temple may take time as permission from the central government is required. When temples in Ayodhya and elsewhere can be modified, what is an issue to install a statue? Every tourist addresses the monument as Vijaya Vittala Temple, but it has no deity statue in it,” he added.
The ASI officials are expected to give a written note to association members, and they are planning to take up a protest in the coming days.
“The Vijaya Vittala temple has been notified as a monument, and we are not sure if permission can be granted for installing the statue. A letter in this regard will be sent to the central government,” said an official from the ASI Hampi circle
