Mysuru: It’s been almost a decade since legendary Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan passed away.

The cries for a memorial for the late actor had been going on for a long, long time. Yet thanks to a few legal hurdles, the project had been on the backburner.

But thankfully, on Monday (July 02), the wife of late actor, Bharati Vishnuvardhan, oversaw the beginning of construction of the memorial on the land allotted for the same in Halalu village, on Mysuru-HD Kote main road.

The Karnataka government has allotted a 5-acre plot to facilitate the construction. However, the going was not smooth as farmers from who lands were acquired were not happy. They later approached the Karnataka high court. But the high court dismissed the case and asked the government to go ahead with the project.

Speaking to a local English news channel, Bharati Vishnuvardhan said, “I am thrilled because the work has finally begun. It is due to the efforts of the fans and admirers that this has happened. I hope the construction ends soon. The credit for it is not exclusively held by anyone. It goes to all.”

The fight for the construction of the memorial has been on for very long after the late actor was cremated at Abhiman Studio. Though fans and admirers wanted a memorial to be built there, it was legally not possible.

Later, the government decided to build a memorial at Mylasandra, Kengeri, Bengaluru. Here too, the land was under litigation as it fell under the buffer zone of Turahalli forest.

Now, with the construction work having begun, it is hoped that it ends quickly and the fans and admirers get to see the memorial.