World’s tallest Statue of Ambedkar in Vijayawada to be open for public from January 20

The Statue of Social Justice, an iconic 206 ft. tall tribute to Bharath Ratna Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar will be thrown open to the public from January 20

The PWD aka Swaraj Maidan will be known as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Swaraj Maidan henceforth. The Statue of Social Justice, an iconic 206 ft. tall tribute to  Bharath Ratna Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, is installed there, and the precincts will be thrown open to the public from January 20 .

The Maidan is expected to become a prime attraction in the city.  The statue is India’s tallest non- religious, Made in India Statue and World’s tallest statue of Ambedkar, according to a press release from the Department of Information and Public Relations (I&PR).

The State Government constructed the statue at Swaraj Maidan keeping in view that the location of the statue must be accessible to everyone. The traditional activities for which Swaraj Maidan is being used now, will be continued.

The project is designed and developed by M/s Design Associates, Noida, which includes DR BR Ambedkar experience centre, a convention centre of 2,000 seating capacity, food court, children’s play area, waterbodies, musical fountain, long walkways for Morning and evening walkers with greenery around.

An experience centre has been developed under the statue inside the Kalachakra Maha Mandap building. The exhibits developed for the museum will allow people from all walks of life to be able to connect and feel inspired by the story of Dr. BR Ambedkar’s life. The centre features 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 mtr pile depth, 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 said.

The State government launched the prestigious project in 2020 with an estimated budget of  ₹268 crores, and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy laid a foundation stone in June 2020. The statue is  made of 352 metric tons of steel and 112 metric tons of brass. The government studied various countrywide models, which include Ambedkar Deeksha Bhoomi (Nagpur), Chaitya Bhoomi (Mumbai), Ambedkar Memorial (Lakhanpur) and Prerana Sthal (Noida).