Mumbai: Construction of the grand memorial of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Indu Mill in Dadar has gathered momentum with several key components nearing completion and the pedestal for the towering statue taking shape. The Rs 1,070-crore memorial project, which is spread over 4.84 hectares of land, is expected to be ready by next year.
The memorial dedicated to the of the architect of the Indian Constitution has a provision for a research centre, including a lecture hall and library, a museum gallery, restaurant, two levels of parking to accommodate more than 450 vehicles, and a 1,000-seat auditorium
The double basement parking facility is 95% complete and is expected to be ready by May 31, according to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is carrying out the works. The entrance plaza is 88.5% complete, the lecture hall 78.7%, and the library 81%. The exhibition and auditorium block has touched the 68% completion mark, with a targeted finish date of Aug 31. Ancillary buildings are nearly done, with 85% of the work completed.
Work on the pedestal building has progressed to 52.8%, while overall pedestal and statue works stand at 20% completion. The centrepiece of the memorial, a 350ft-tall bronze statue of Dr Ambedkar is being sculpted by 100-year-old Padma Bhushan and Maharashtra Bhushan awardee Ram Sutar. A 1:1 scale thermocol model, standing 230ft tall, is already completed.
So far, 1,395 metric tonnes (MT) of structural steel have been procured for the statue, with 155 MT of baseplate fabrication and erection completed. Bronze panelling work has commenced, with 308 sq m finished out of a total of 10,510 sq m. MMRDA metropolitan commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee and additional commissioner Vikram Kumar recently visited the site to review the progress.