INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A statute of Dr BR Ambedkar
File photo PTI)Almost four years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi kick-started the work of Dr BR Ambedkar memorial in Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of a grand statue at the memorial on Friday.The ceremony will take
place at the India United Mills in Dadar in presence of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and others.The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority
(MMRDA), which is constructing the memorial, has made it clear that the function will take place following norms of physical distancing.It
will be Uddhav Thackeray's first public gathering in an open space after the lockdown came into force in March.The MMRDA is expected to
spend Rs 1,000 crore on erecting the grand statue
As per the revised plan, the 350-feet statue will be built on a 100-feet platform, making its overall height at 450 feet.Shapoorji Pallonji,
a leading construction firm, is expected to complete the work in three years.The Maharashtra government has secured possession of the 12
acres INDU mill land for the memorial after a decade-long negotiations with the Union Textile Ministry, which owned the land.The state
government has acquired all necessary permissions for construction of the memorial.PM Narendra Modi had performed a ground-breaking ritual
at the memorial site in December 2016.It will be the second grand memorial after the one dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji in the Arabian Sea
| Money for Wadia hospital allocated, building Ambedkar statue important: Sharad Pawar | Shivaji statue in sea to cost Maharashtra Rs
