Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar will unveil the 112-foot Adiyogi statue, a replica of the popular statue seen at the Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore, on January 15. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot will be present at the ceremony, which is being held at the Isha Foundation's Sadhguru Sannidhi centre in Chikkaballapur district, near Nandi Hills.
The statue’s unveiling was at the centre of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) until January 13, when the Karnataka High Court gave the foundation a go ahead with the event.
According to a statement by the Isha Foundation, the inauguration will take place at 6 pm. This statement followed the court's judgement and reports of the Vice President cancelling his visit despite the favourable judgement. The foundation is expecting thousands of people at the event. There will be a 14-minute light and sound show, the 'Divya Darshanam', on Makar Sankranti.
The Isha Centre said that Sadhguru Sannidhi is a powerfully consecrated space that will foster spiritual growth and development in individual human beings.
The PIL was filed by Kyathappa S and others from Chikkaballapur. It alleged that yoga and spiritual guru Sadhguru's foundation was undertaking construction on an environmentally sensitive area. The petitioners claimed that there was demographic pressure brought on by the movement of people and vehicles.
They also claimed that a gathering of over five lakh people for the event would cause irreparable damage to the flora and fauna of the region. Additionally, the plea said that Nandi Hills, the origin point of the North Pinakini and South Pinakini rivers, will be adversely impacted, too. The petitioners claimed that the Isha Centre imported the metal statue of Shiva and to put it together overnight. Consequently, the landscape had been defaced.
Upon hearing arguments from both sides, a division bench headed by Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Ashok S Kinagi allowed the Isha Foundation to proceed with its planned event on Sunday. The court accepted an undertaking from the Isha Centre that it will not carry out any new construction activity other than what is necessary to hold the event.
