Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday will unveil a 125-feet-tall statue of Dr B R Ambedkar on the banks of Hussainsagar, marking the latter’s 132nd birth anniversary.
The iconic structure of Ambedkar, which will set another landmark for the state, is claimed to be the tallest statue in the country ever built for the ‘architect of Indian Constitution’ – with an overall height of 175-ft, including a 50-ft-high circular base resembling the edifice of Parliament of India.
An official from the chief minister’s office said the statue weighs 474 tonnes, while 360 tonnes of stainless steel was used for building the armature structure of the statue, 114 tonnes of bronze was used for casting of the statue.
Interestingly, the statue was designed by renowned sculptors, Ram Vanji Sutar (98) and his son Anil Ram Sutar (65) of Ram Sutar Art Creations in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, who also designed several monumental sculptures, including the world’s tallest statue — the Statue of Unity (597 feet) of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat.
“The overall cost of the project was estimated at ₹146.50 crore and the construction was taken up by KPC Projects Limited as per the agreement concluded on June 3, 2021.
“The pedestal on which the statue is installed has three floors with a total built-up area of 26,258 sq ft. This structure will house a museum which has several articles and pictures depicting the life history of Ambedkar and a 100-seater auditorium for presenting audio-visuals of Ambedkar’s life. A library will also be built in due course,” the official said.
The entire premises spread over 11 acres has been beautified with landscape and greenery in 2.93 acres, besides providing parking facility for about 450 cars. There are two lifts for visitors reaching the top of the pedestal to reach the feet of Ambedkar.
“Incidentally, the statue is adjacent to the newly-built state secretariat, which has also been named after Ambedkar. The secretariat complex will be inaugurated on April 30,” the CMO official said.
