The monumental rise: Maya plans to unveil 40 statues

Interestingly,while officials say that the July 3 programme is only tentative,preparations are on in full swing.

Arrangements are being made for a gathering of over 6,000 people at the Elephant Gallery of Ambedkar Memorial. Chairs,other furniture and water-proof tents have already been brought.

Divisional Commissioner Prashant Trivedi,who is also the chairman of Lucknow Development Authority,said nothing had been finalised yet for July 3 as construction of the memorials are incomplete.

While the LDA is the nodal agency for the memorials,the work is being executed by UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam.

UPRNN managing director C P Singh refused to discuss the matter. However,engineers at the memorial said they had been given instructions to complete whatever work they could before July 3.

Also,where a structure cannot be completed in the next 10 days,temporary work should be done to make it look as close to the design as possible on the day of the event. An estimated Rs 1 crore is being spent on these temporary works.

Giving an example,an engineer said the stone work on the domes of the two stupas inside Ambedkar Memorial cannot be done in a short period. Therefore,the domes are being coated with plaster of Paris. Next,these would be painted to match the pink stone used in the construction.

Mayawati had inaugurated the Ambedkar Memorial on January 15,2003,and the stupas were built later.

The Kanshiram Memorial has been developed on a 42-acre plot at a cost of Rs 370 crore. It has the biggest dome in the country. The Buddha Sthal has been developed on a 100-acre plot opposite the Kanshiram Memorial at a cost of Rs 90 crore.