Ensure quality in installation of 125 ft-tall Ambedkar bronze statue: Jagan

Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has called for high quality works for the 125 feet-tall bronze statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar at Swaraj Maidan in the city. The statue would be inaugurated on April 14 to mark the Dalit icon’s birth anniversary.

The Chief Minister reviewed the progress of the statue works and the arrangements for its installation with deputy CM Kottu Satyanarayana, education minister Botsa Satyanarayana, social welfare minister Merugu Nagarjuna, municipal administration minister Audimulapu Suresh and senior officials at his camp office here on Thursday.

Jagan Mohan Reddy laid stress on quality in the works relating to the statue and said that once it was installed, it should be a matter of pride to the city.

The officials informed the CM that the statue would be installed on an 81-feet pedestal at the Dr BR Ambedkar Smriti Vanam in Swaraj Maidan. Some 352 metric tonnes of steel and 112 metric tonnes of brass go into its making. A 2,000-seat capacity convention centre with spacious parking facility for cars and buses would also be arranged as part of the project.

The CM said the whole project must be presented on a permanent basis. The Smriti Vanam special committee must keep reviewing the progress of works, he said.

The various parts of the statue have arrived from studios and are ready for installation in 13 stages. The civil works of the project are going on and the slab works for the pedestal would be completed by the end of March, officials told the CM.