Statue of Equality
| Location | Prabhadevi, Dadar, Mumbai |
|---|---|
| Height | 150 feet |
| Beginning date | November 2015 |
| Dedicated to | Dr. B. R. Ambedkar |
The Statue of Equality is a 150 feet statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar at Ambedkar memorial proposed for the Indian city of Mumbai.
Ambedkar Memorial Mumbai was announced by Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh as on 18 August 2012. It is to be situated on old Indu Mills land in Dadar.
On 11 October 2015, foundation stone of Memorial was laid by Prime Minister of IndiaNarendra Modi. Work of memorial was to start in November 2015.
The main entrance to the structure would be from the adjacent Cadell Road with SKS Marg as secondary access point. The memorial will be linked with Chaitya Bhoomi for easy movement of crowds. The memorial will cost ₹425 crore (US$63 million) at 12-acre erstwhile Indu Mill land. Its main attraction will be a 25,000 sq ft stupa around a pond. A dome-like structure with 24 stone ribs will be in the middle of plot. There will be an Ashoka Chakra covering the memorial structure. There will also be a proposed 39,622 square feet interactive museum displaying several aspects of Ambedkar’s life. The memorial will have a facility to park around 400 vehicles.
the stupa would be the most expensive part at ₹110.95 crore (US$16 million). Stupa will be of 40 metres (140 feet) height and a circumference diameter of 80 metres (110 feet) will have a ribbed ceiling thus resembling the Buddhist Chaityas. An eight-tier bronze canopy representing the Buddha’s eight-fold path at the top of the stupa in a built-up area of 2,400 square metres with a lotus pond at the foot of the dome.
There is also proposed Vipassanā (meditation) hall at the memorial with a seating capacity of 13,000 people.
Gallery of Struggle will also be there to depict momentous events associated with the life and work of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar alongside a library spread across 50,000 square feet.
After laying of foundation stone event of memorial, Ambedkar's family (Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's grandsons Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar and Anandraj Ambedkar) and Maharashtra Ambedkarities leaders were not satisfied with memorial design. Some had concerns over the practical details of the design while others thought the memorial was not befitting the stature of Dr. Ambedkar. Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar pressed for memorial to have a “think tank institution”, an intellectual centre of international standards for scholars across the globe come for intellectual activity as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was an intellectual giant who contributed to many fields different many ways. Anandraj Ambedkar also suggested a design to the State government which was not considered as his design consisted of a 360-feet tall statue of Dr. Ambedkar, Statue of Equality. The design right now looks more like a joggers’ park than a memorial. Leaders demanded government to set up a technical committee of experts on Buddhism, reputed architects from different Buddhist countries, and well-known people from the construction industry before finalising the memorial’s design with inclusion of a State of Equality (a larger-than-life sculpture of Ambedkar facing the ocean like the New York City’s Statue of Liberty) so to form an impressive part of Mumbai’s skyline and should be the first thing that visitors landing in Mumbai lay their eyes on.
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