The inauguration of Suvarna Soudha in Belgaum by President Pranab Mukharjee on Thursday may bring a smile on many a face, but it will leave Vishweshvarayya Naidrakar, who made bronze national emblem and installed it atop the building, a disappointed man.
The chief architect and construction agency of Soudha is Pune-based B G Shirke Construction Technology Pvt Ltd. The company subcontracted the work of making and installing the national emblem to Naidrakar, who owns V T N Creative Art Studio Pvt Ltd in Gulbarga, for Rs 70,56,000 in April.
Naidrakar started the work in May and installed the 6.5-tonne national emblem on a 2.54-m diameter pedestal on top of the building in August. It has been painted with golden lacquer. The Pune company has so far released `45 lakh to him, keeping over Rs 25 lakh pending.
He told Express that when he started reminding the company officials of the payment due over phone, they stopped attending his calls. He said he had also taken huge loans for his work.
Naidrakar said he was thinking of taking legal recourse to get his pending payment from the company. He was also not invited for the inaugural function.
Rajyotsava Award recipient A S Patil wrote a letter to Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar in August, requesting him to felicitate Naidrakar during the inauguration of Suvarna Soudha, and the letter was forwarded to the Kannada and Culture Department.
When Express contacted Colonel (Retd) Bijoor, deputy general manager (vigilance) of B G Shirke Construction Technology Pvt Ltd, he said the company’s vigilance officials would talk to Naidrakar and their project in-charge before taking action.
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