Meet the shramjeevis, highlighted in PM’s speech

Modi met a group of workers who had worked at the site, including gardeners, masons and electricians.

Vasudev Kumar, from Katihar in Bihar, said he had been working at the site for about a year. “I was working with the concrete and the cleaning. The Prime Minister said that he was happy about meeting us. We were similarly happy about meeting him,” Kumar said.

Workers who are part of the larger Central Vista project were also at the inauguration. Around 10 to 15 people who are working on the new Parliament building attended the event, said Mohan Lal, 21. “I have been working on the Parliament building site for around one and a half years now. Work is progressing very fast. We came here to watch the inauguration and got to see the Prime Minister for the first time. I have seen the avenue before also. We would come here sometimes while the work was happening,” said Mohal Lal, who is from Barmer, Rajasthan, and is working on the interiors of the new Parliament building.

For the workers who set up the Subhas Chandra Bose statue under the canopy near India Gate, work lasted for over a week. “It took around eight days to put it up. We started working on September 1. There was a metal frame and the statue was placed within that. There were around 70 to 80 people working on putting it up. The statue arrived here in a big vehicle, and it was completely covered,” said Sharik, from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. Paintings depicting Bose and his life are on the walls that surround the canopy that now houses the statue.

Speaking at the inauguration, Modi acknowledged those who worked on the project, “On this occasion, I would like to thank the workers on behalf of the nation. I met the workers today. I have told them that this time, on January 26, those who worked here along with their families, will be my special guests.”

“After the construction of the new Parliament building, those who worked on it will be given space in a special gallery. This gallery will remind future generations that on the foundations of democracy on one side there is the Constitution and on the other side there is the contribution of the labour force. This is the inspiration that the Kartavya Path will also give the people of the country,” Modi said.