Members of Grains and Seeds Merchants Association staging a protest against the move to install a statue of late Jawaharlal Nehru at the APMC Yard in Kalaburagi on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI
Traders and members of various organisations staged a protest here on Tuesday opposing the proposed installation of a statue of the former Prime Minister late Jawaharlal Nehru within the premises of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Yard.
The Gunj Market area witnessed a bandh as traders shut down business establishments and suspended commercial activities in protest.
Demonstrators took out a padayatra to the APMC office and submitted a memorandum to the authorities.
The protesters demanded that the site where the old administrative building once stood be utilised for constructing a modern, computerised hall for tenders and a new administrative office, benefiting farmers and traders.
In a memorandum submitted to the APMC, Foodgrains and Seeds Merchants Association president Santosh Langer and honorary secretary Basavaraj H. Tadkal stated that the earlier administrative building, constructed in 1947, was demolished due to dilapidation.
They said that the government has already initiated administrative and technical procedures for the construction of a new hall for tenders and an office complex at the same location.
During a site inspection conducted by Agriculture Minister N. Chaluvarayaswamy in December 2025, representatives of the traders association urged the authorities to retain the proposed building at the existing site.
A revised proposal with an estimated cost of ₹4.98 crore was subsequently approved in a general body meeting, association members said.
The protestors expressed concern over reports that preparations are under way to install a statue of late Jawaharlal Nehru at the site. They said that the move can result in shifting essential administrative facilities elsewhere, causing inconvenience to farmers and traders.
The former association president Shrimant Udnoor said that traders strongly opposed the proposal. They will continue their agitation against the installation of the statue.
President of the Kalyana Karnataka Pratyeka Rajya Horata Samiti M.S. Patil Naribol said that the work related to the proposed statue has begun without approval from the APMC authorities and demanded that it be stopped immediately.
Published – May 26, 2026 09:23 pm IST
