Mayawati memorial facelift to cost Rs 10 cr

The Sthal,which is close to the Ambedkar Memorial,was developed at the cost of Rs 6 crore in 2007-08. It has four bronze statues,those of B R Ambedkar and his wife Ramabai on one side,and those of Kanshiram and Mayawati to the opposite. It was unveiled by Mayawati on April 14,2008,which is Ambedkar’s birth anniversary.

It is the same place where a 15-foot statue of Mayawati was replaced because it was 3-foot shorter than that of Kanshiram.

The memorial had floor of red sandstone which has now been dug up. In its place,a floor of red multi-granite will be laid,said an engineer at the site. Sandstone from the pedestals around the memorial is also being replaced by granite.

Platforms have been constructed for installation of four bronze fountains inside the memorials. Since fountains are an important feature in all other memorials,they will also be installed in this Sthal,the engineer said. Heavy brass gates are being put up at the entrance to both parts of the memorial.

UPRNN has to complete the work by April 14.

This for the second time since its construction in 2007-08,that the memorial is undergoing a design change. In March 2009,the Lucknow Development Authority had dug up the floor to facilitate construction of pillars to raise canopies over the statues.

About 200 metre from this site,UPRNN is making fresh construction inside Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Jan Suvidha Parisar,which is spread over about 7,000 metre area.

“Earlier there was a parking lot,a restaurant and a toilet block. But now a sandstone boundary wall is being erected to separate 5,000 sq mt area for the parking lot and toilets while 2,000 sq metre area would be for a centrally airconditioned restaurant,said a UPRNN official.

A separate giant entrance gate is being constructed for the restaurant area. Mayawati had dedicated this ‘Parisar’ to public on June 25,2009.