Inauguration of Ambedkar statue in Vijayawada postponed again, for the fourth time

Vijayawada's ₹400-cr Dr. B.R. Ambedkar statue and Smriti Vanam (memorial park) inauguration postponed again due to incomplete construction. 125-ft bronze statue installed, but 18.81-acre park yet to finish. Deadline shifted multiple times, officials tight-lipped on revised date.

The inauguration of the ₹400-crore Dr. B.R. Ambedkar statue and Smriti Vanam (memorial park), coming up at Swarjya Maidan (PWD Grounds) in Vijayawada, has been postponed yet again with construction work on the park yet to complete.

Installation of the 125-ft bronze statue, sitting on an 81-ft pedestal, was slated for November 26 coinciding with the Constitution Day. However, only work on the statue seems to have been completed, while work on the memorial park, comprising a conventional hall, meditation hall, coming up at the 18.81-acre maidan is yet to finish.

In August, while inspecting work at the park, Municipal Administration Minister Adimulapu Suresh had said the park would be ready by November 26 and that it would have four AC halls with one of them having a mini theatre throwing light on the life events of Dr. Ambedkar and the other three having museums.

At first, the project was scheduled to be thrown open to public on April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti), 2022. Then the deadline was revised for April 14, 2023. Later, the deadline was shifted to June 15 for the statue and July 15 for the park. Now, the November 26 deadline is also missed. This is the fourth time the deadline has been missed.

Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Commissioner Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar, who has been making inspections of the statue regularly since its installation in February, said he did not know when it was likely to be completed, Chief Special Secretary (Municial Administration and Urban Development) Y. Sri Lakshmi was unavailable for comment.

Officials of the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC), the nodal agency for the project, were also tight-lipped. They said any information on how much work had been completed and the revised deadline would have to come from the Corporation.