Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated a 125-foot-tall monument of Dr B R Ambedkar at Swaraj Maidan in Vijayawada on Friday evening, naming the city the ‘monument of Social Justice’.
Before presenting the monument, Reddy addressed the Samajika Samatha Sankalpa Sabha (a conference to decide to achieve social justice) and stated that the statue embodied the spirit of Dalits and other oppressed groups of society, including minorities and women in the nation.
The statue, which stands on an 81-foot pedestal at the Smriti Vanam, brings the monument’s overall height to 206 feet, making it the highest Dr Ambedkar edifice ever created in the world, he added.
“The statue is the pillar of the struggle against untouchability. We still struggle with untouchability in other forms today,” he said. Ambedkar inspired the Dalits and other marginalised sections of the society to fight against their discrimination, he added.
The chief minister stated that Ambedkar had heralded an educational revolution among the oppressed classes who were unable to obtain an education, and that the state was making all-out efforts to provide quality higher education to Dalits and other marginalised sections so that they could fight discrimination by economically empowering themselves.
Stating how the state is supporting these sections of people, Reddy claimed that his government had ensured that nearly 50-60% of nominated posts were given to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and minorities.
“Right from day one, we have been implementing the Ambedkar vision in all aspects in letter and spirit,” the chief minister said.
Vijayawada municipal commissioner Swapnil Dinakar Pundakar told reporters that the project, which cost ₹400 crore, spans 18.18 acres and is an entirely indigenous endeavour from inception to completion.
“The sculptors, designers, architects, material suppliers and workers are all from India,” he said.
The project was started on December 21, 2021, and the statue was completed in February last year. “The entire installation was completed in a record time of 11 months,” Pundakar said.
Kalachakra Maha Mandal is a pedestal building that houses an experience center and a museum representing Ambedkar’s life history, complete with a dynamic context wall, multi-layered graphics, and projection mapping.
The pedestal’s colonnade features mural artwork depicting many aspects of Ambedkar’s life. It also contains a convention center with seating for 2,000 people.
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Source: HT
