Telangana martyrs to ‘grow’, height of memorials to match KCR lucky number 6

 

However, Mr Chandrasekhar Rao’s plans of building a huge memorial for T-martyrs in Hyderabad, along the lines of the Statue of Liberty in the US, has failed to see light of day nearly a year after he made a statement in the TS Legislative Assembly, in June 2014. Mr Rao had then said: “The photos of all 369 T-martyrs of the 1969 agitation will be kept at the huge memorial which will come up in the city soon along the lines of the Statue of Liberty.” However, nearly a year later, no progress has been made on this and the site is yet to be identified.

 

The height of the famous T-memorial at Gun Park, built in 1974, opposite the Legislative Assembly is 25 feet. The memorial that TRS leader Mr T. Harish Rao had built in Rangdampally, in his Siddipet Assembly constituency in 2008, at a height of 28.9 feet, remains the highest T-memorial till date. It was built in a record 45 days and was inspired by the Gun Park memorial.

 

TS government has directed district collectors to adopt the “Siddipet model” for new memorials in the districts, but to ensure a height of 33 feet. 

The memorials are being built in all the district collectorates in line with the TS government’s decision taken in June 2014 that collectors should salute the martyrs first on TS formation day every year before participating in the celebrations.

 

Popular Telangana poet and singer Mr Desapati Srinivas, who is also the OSD in CMO, had played a crucial role in the design and execution of Siddipet memorial.

“It gives me immense happiness that the Siddipet memorial, which we had designed, has become a role model for all other memorials in the districts. It’s our foremost duty and responsibility to remember T-martyrs every day, due to whose sacrifices the Telangana state was achieved,” Mr Srinivas said.

 

In fact Mr Rao had planned a fast unto death agitation demanding Telangana state in November 2009 near the Siddipet memorial before he was arrested in Khammam. 

On the bottom of the Siddipet model, there are symbols of nine bullets on four sides to indicate that police bullets had struck T-supporters in nine districts of the T-region then.

 

On the top, there are nine inter-linked pillars, which indicate that all the nine districts then had fought for the T-state together. On the top of these pillars, there is the “Ashoka Chakra” to indicate that T-people had fought for their Constitutional rights. And right at the top, a jasmine flower motif indicates that tributes are being paid to the T-martyrs with flowers every day.

 

Following the government’s directions, Medak Joint-Collector Mr P. Venkatram Reddy, Nizamabad Panchayat Raj Senior Engineer Mr Satyamurthy and officials from Adilabad, Karimnagar and Mahabubnagar have visited Siddipet memorial to examine it and replicate the same.