The Swaraj Maidan, where the 125-foot statue of the architect of the Constitution has come up, also has facilities such as an experience centre, a 2,000-capacity convention centre, a food court, children’s play area, waterbodies, musical fountain, and walkways
The Swaraj Maidan in the heart of Vijayawada will henceforth be known as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Swaraj Maidan.
It is here that the Statue of Social Justice, the iconic 125-ft. statue (excluding the 85-ft. concrete pedestal) of the architect of the Constitution is installed, and its precincts will be thrown open to public from January 20 .
. The statue is India’s tallest non-religious structure. Made in India, it is also the world’s tallest statue of Dr. Ambedkar, according to a press release by the Department of Information and Public Relations (I&PR).
The Andhra Pradesh government has installed the statue at Swaraj Maidan as it is accessible to everyone. The activities for which Swaraj Maidan is being used now will be continued.
The project is designed and developed by M/s Design Associates, Noida. It comprises the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar experience centre, a 2,000-capacity convention centre, a food court, children’s play area, waterbodies, musical fountain, long walkways with greenery.
The experience centre has been developed under the statue, inside the Kalachakra Maha Mandap building. The exhibits at the museum will help people draw inspiration from the life of Dr. BR Ambedkar. It features a dynamic contextual wall, multi-layered graphics, layered graphics with embedded displays diorama and set design with projection mapping.
The structure of the building is made of pile foundation with 539 piles of 30-metre-deep, shear walls and inclined RCC slabs and beams with an inclination of 50 degrees. The pedestal design replicates the Kalachakra Maha Mandal of Buddhist architecture. The pedestal of the statue is G+2 Isosceles Trapezium shaped RCC framed structure. The shape and finishing of it is an architectural inspiration, the release says.
The government had launched the prestigious project in 2020 with an estimated budget of ₹268 crore, and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone for it in June 2020.
The statue is made of 352 tonnes of steel and 112 tonnes of brass. The government has studied various countrywide models, which include Ambedkar Deeksha Bhoomi (Nagpur), Chaitya Bhoomi (Mumbai), Ambedkar Memorial (Lakhanpur), and Prerana Sthal (Noida).
The previous TDP government headed by N. Chandrababu Naidu had planned to install a 125-foot Ambedkar statue in the Capital city of Amaravati.
Mr. Naidu had laid a foundation stone for the project in April 2016. The government had also planned to construct a B.R. Ambedkar memorial, including the statue, on a 15-acre site in Amaravati.
