File photo of Karnataka water resources minister D K Shivakumar

BENGALURU: Even as the Congress at the national level continued to oppose Gujarat government’s decision to build the world’s tallest statue of Sardar Patel by spending a whopping Rs 3,000 crore, Karnataka government on Thursday strongly defended its decision to erect a 125-feet tall statue of Mother Cauvery at KRS reservoir in Mandya district.

“We are building the statue and the garden on public-private-partnership model and the government is not spending any money. We are only giving land,” Karnataka water resources minister D K Shivakumar said.

He also took objection for drawing a comparison between the Sardar’s statue and that of Mother Cauvery. “The statue is just a part of the larger tourism project to provide a glimpse of state’s culture, traditions and history," he said.

The minister, who also hails from Cauvery belt, said the statue and the park would come up on 400 acres of land near the KRS Dam. However, he refused to divulge the estimated amount being spent on the project, though sources maintain that the cost would be around Rs 1,200 crore.

