Hyderabad: Work on building a 125-feet-tall statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar at the sprawling 10 acres of NRT Gardens has finally commenced. Social welfare minister Koppula Eshwar visited the construction site on Thursday. He issued directions to the firm that bagged the contract to complete the project in 12-15 months.
Eshwar asserted that this statue of Father of Indian Constitution will be tallest in India after that of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat. The actual height of Ambedkar’s statue will be 75 feet. But it would come up on a 50-feet pedestal.
The minister claimed this will be the tallest Ambedkar statue in the country. He said R&B department, on behalf of SC Corporation, has floated a tender for execution of the project estimated to cost Rs 146 crore. The tender has since been finalised.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao laid foundation for this project on April 14, 2016. on occasion of 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Dr Ambedkar. The CM had then fixed a deadline of one year for completion of the project, so that it could be unveiled on April 14, 2017.
But it has taken more than five years for the project to take off. The delay was on account of touring various countries like China and Singapore to examine tallest statues, finalise designs and hold meetings with experts who have handled installations of such huge statues.
The statue's final design had been unveiled in September last year. Accordingly, the statue will be 45-ft wide. It will have nine tonnes of bronze skin coating. In all, 155 tonnes of stainless steel will be used in making the frame of the statue.
Eshwar said the 10-acre premises will be developed as a tourist spot with different artefacts connected with Dr. Ambedkar’s life dotting the area. A museum, photo art gallery, exhibition, library, meeting hall, laser show, canteen, vast parking area, and washrooms will be developed on the premises.
The state government has already installed a 29-feet-tall Ambedkar statue at the Centre for Dalit Studies in Borabanda area of the city.
