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Weeks after he was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Karuvannur bank scam, Kerala-based industrialist Gokulam Gopalan is sponsoring a massive sand
portrait to honour Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is visiting Thrissur on Wednesday, January 3. The 51-feet portrait, made by sand artist Babu Edakkunni, has been created using varied
types of sands from 51 villages across India. Pockets of sand imported from Modi’s hometown of Vadnagar in the Mehsana district of Gujarat have also been included in the portrait. Babu
Edakkunni told media persons that he took 10 days to complete the portrait. Gopalan, who is the chairman of the Sree Gokulam Group of Companies, told the media that this was Kerala’s own
tribute to Modi, whom he referred to as “a person revered across the world.” “Considering everything he has done, no matter how big the portrait is, it wouldn’t be enough,” he claimed.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Thrissur district president KK Aneesh Kumar thanked Gopalan for his support to this initiative. “When Modiji comes to Thrissur on Wednesday, the highlight of
the event would be this 51-ft portrait. It will make the event more colourful,” he said. Modi is arriving in Thrissur to address a mass gathering of around two lakh women at the BJP’s Mahila
Conference. He is expected to reach Kuttanalloor by 3pm and spend about two-and-half hours addressing road shows and public meetings in the district. This 51-ft portrait will be erected
next to one of these venues. A mega Thiruvathira dance event was held in Thrissur ahead of Modi’s visit on January 1, which was also inaugurated by Gopalan. It was on November 29 last year
that the Enforcement Directorate interrogated Gopalan in connection with the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank fraud case. The central investigation agency suspected that some of the
accused in the case, who were booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, had made cash deposits with the financial institution run by him. A few months before that, the ED had
grilled him in connection with another Income Tax case.