Shivamogga: The prestigious Padma Vibhushan Award conferred on the State’s iconic poet Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa (Kuvempu) will be lost forever at his house-turned-museum at Kuppalli in Shivamogga district. Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second-highest civilian award, conferred on poet laureate in 1988 was stolen on November 23 in 2015 from the museum that is being maintained by Rashtrakavi Kuvempu Pratishtana. The Pratishtana had appealed to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for a replica of the medal and now the Ministry has turned down the appeal. Confirming this, Pratishtana Secretary Kadidal Prakash said, “The officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs have sent a letter to the Pratishtana saying the replica of the Padma Vibhushan or any civilian award presented by the President of India cannot be given when the recipient is not alive. The appeal could have been considered, if it had come from the recipient himself. “It is disappointing, but the Pratishtana is helpless in this regard. Getting a replica of the medal created is against the law. So, we dropped the idea of asking an artist to create a replica.”
