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KCR to inaugurate Telangana Martyr’s Memorial
The massive Telangana Martyrs’ Memorial is set for inauguration by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday, as part of the ongoing decennial celebrations of the state formation.
Hyderabad: A massive memorial for those who had laid down their lives for the formation of separate Telangana state is set for inauguration by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday, as part of the ongoing decennial celebrations of the state formation.
The Telangana Martyrs’ Memorial – a huge elliptical shaped mirror-finished structure built in the form of a lamp (Dia) with giant reddish yellow metallic flame atop it, is located on the banks of Hussainsagar right in front of the majestic state secretariat complex at a cost of ₹ 179 crore.
The 45-metre structure is the largest seamless stainless-steel memorial built in the world. It is five times bigger than Cloud Gate, a similar structure in Chicago in US or the Bubble at Karamay in China.
M Venkata Ramana Reddy, the chief architect and designer of the memorial, said he visited several countries to study various models of memorials built for war martyrs. “Even in India, there are several war memorials, including museums and stupas. But the Telangana martyrs’ memorial is going to be unique model, which reflects the spirit of the Telangana movement and the sacrifices made by the people to realise their dream of a separate Telangana state,” Reddy said.
He said he had submitted five designs to the chief minister, who had finalised the present design with certain modifications. The six-storied structure will have a museum, an auditorium that can accommodate 75 people to watch films on the Telangana movement, a convention centre with seating arrangements for 650 people, a restaurant and other amenities for tourists. The two floors underground are meant for parking of vehicles.
Spread across a sprawling 3.29-acre land adjacent to Lumbini Park, the stainless steel structure has a built-up area of 2.68 lakh square feet. As many as 3,000 stainless steel plates weighing over a hundred tonne were used for the external cladding with mirror finish. “These were fabricated in Dubai, assembled on-site with extreme precision with seamless finishing using laser technology. Only the internal walls and slabs are made of concrete, and the remaining structure was made only of steel,” Reddy said.
The elliptical “diya” has a major axis length of 54 metres and minor axis length of 37 metres and a height of 26 metres on one side and 18 metres on other side. The height of the flame is 26 metres from terrace level. “The overall height of lamp is 45 metres from ground level,” he said,
The flame was made of carbon steel and has been set up in such a way that it can withstand winds speeds up to 130 kmph, Reddy said.
“The project, for which KCR laid foundation in June 2017, took six years for completion. More than 5,000 people have worked on this project in the last three years,” he said.
State roads and buildings minister Vemula Prashant Reddy said the memorial was built in such a way that the flame would continue to glow, reflecting the spirit of the martyrs who had fought for Telangana. “It will stand not just as a memorial for their sacrifices, but also an inspiration to the future generations,” the minister said.
