The Karnataka government fined Srinivasa Nataraj, the contractor who sent the stone for Lord Ram’s deity, and he had to mortgage his wife’s jewellery to pay the money. Notably, many individuals have now come to the man’s aid and he has now received four to five times more than the required amount. On behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mysuru MP Pratap Simha has also stated that he will also provide the contractor with Rs. 80,000 soon.
In a conversation with OpIndia, MP Simha said, “The stone for the construction of the Ram Lalla idol in Ayodhya was sent by the contractor Srinivas. He lacked authorisation for the same from the Department of Mines and Geology in Mysuru. He had taken the stone from farmer Ramdas’s field and sent it straight to Ayodhya. He received a penalty of Rs 80,000 from the Mines and Geology Department of Mysuru for this which he deposited.”
Simha added, “Many people have helped the contractor Srinivas after the news of the charge on him came out. At this point, Rs 4 to 5 lakh have been voluntarily donated to Srinivas by several individuals. Additionally, he received financial support and recognition from an organisation that promotes Kannada. Multiple persons collected money to make up for the loss that Srinivas suffered.”
When OpIndia asked MP Pratap Simha if he was assisting Srinivas on a personal level as well, he replied, “Yes, the party (BJP) is helping him with the figure as well. We will give them a support of Rs 80,000 from the party within a day or two.”
Notably, the stone for the deity placed in the Ram temple at Ayodhya was sent from the land of Ramdas, a Dalit farmer from the village of Mysuru’s Harohalli-Gujjegaudanpura in Karnataka. Local contractor Srinivas excavated this stone and sent it to the sculptor Arun Yogiraj which he liked.
It was recently reported that the Mines and Geology Department of Mysuru had fined Srinivas Rs 80,000 for lacking permission to mine stones. He was forced to pawn his spouse’s jewellery in order to cover the cost of the fine. People chose to side with Srinivasa and slammed the Karnataka administration after the news broke out. Pratap Simha also expressed his support for Srinivas.
The farmer Ramdas, from whose farm the stone originated, is now building a temple of Lord Ram on his land. He had already handed over a part of his property for the same. The foundation stone of the temple was laid on 22nd January when the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir took place in Ayodhya.