125-feet statue of Dr Ambedkar in Hyderabad by year-end

Hyderabad: The 125-feet tall statue of Dr B. R. Ambedkar will be unveiled in Hyderabad by the end of the current year.

This will be the tallest statue of the Father of Indian Constitution anywhere in the world and it is coming up near Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of the city.

Minister for municipal administration and urban development K. T. Rama Rao along with social welfare minister Koppula Eshwar on Wednesday reviewed the work of the bronze statue being built at a cost of Rs 150 crore.

The statue will be installed on a 50-feet pedestal. Rama Rao said 90-95 per cent work of the base has been completed.

KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, said an 11-acre area around the statue will be developed as a centre of tourist attraction. This would be a place of inspiration for not just people of Telangana but for the entire country, he said.

Life and works of Dr Ambedkar will be showcased through a museum, a photo gallery and an exhibition library. A meditation centre and meeting hall will also come up at the statue.

The minister said the work on the statue was in full swing. Social welfare minister is regularly monitoring the progress.

According to officials, the place will have all the amenities like toilets, canteen and parking.

The ministers reviewed the work a day before the birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar. KTR said that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is following in the footsteps of Dr Ambedkar by working for the welfare of all sections of people.

He said building the tallest statue of Dr Ambedkar was a long-cherished dream of the chief minister.

The chief minister had laid the foundation for this project on April 14, 2016 on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Dr Ambedkar.

He had fixed a deadline of one year for completion of the project, so that it could be unveiled on April 14, 2017. However, the work could commence after a delay of more than five years.

Officials visited various countries like China and Singapore to examine the tallest statues, held meetings with experts who have handled installations of such huge statues before finalising the design in September 2020.

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.