Three statues that of actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao, film director Dasari Narayana Rao and son of NTR Hari Krishna were removed overnight by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) from the Beach Road, in the wee hours of Tuesday.
The statues were removed based on an order from the Andhra Pradesh High Court, based on a PIL and contempt case that was filed by social activist Bolisetti Satyanarayana.
According to Mr. Satyanarayana the statues were installed overnight by some political leaders from the Telugu Desam Party, without obtaining the required permissions and following the norms.
The Commissioner of GVMC M. Harinarayanan informed The Hindu that the statues were removed based on Court’s order. The permission for installation of the statues were not obtained from the Committee, which approves such installations, headed by the District Collector, he added.
Meanwhile, a few local TDP leaders staged a dharna near the pedestal of the statues on Tuesday morning claiming that the move was politically motivated.