Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday unveil a statue of 11th century Vaishnavaite saint Sri Ramanujacharya near Hyderabad. The Prime Minister’s visit to Hyderabad was announced last month; the Chinna Jeeyar Swamy of Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram had met PM Modi in September last year urging him to visit the city.
The inauguration will take place at 5pm, according to Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The Prime Minister will also visit the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) campus in Patancheru and kickstart its 50th anniversary celebrations.
President Ramnath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and several other dignitaries from across the globe have also been invited for the statue’s inauguration.
Here’s everything you need to know about ‘Statue of Equality’:
• The 216-ft statue has been erected on the 40-acre sprawling premises of Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamy ashram.
• According to Jeeyar Education Trust official Suryanarayana Yellapragada, the ‘Statue of Equality’ is the second tallest in seated position.
• It has been built to commemorate the 1,000 years of his birth. The total cost of the project is around ₹1,000 crore.
• The statue is made of five metals - gold, silver, copper, brass and tin. The structure was erected in 2017, but it took four years for the completion of works on the other constructions.
{{/usCountry}}• The statue is made of five metals - gold, silver, copper, brass and tin. The structure was erected in 2017, but it took four years for the completion of works on the other constructions.
{{/usCountry}}• The statue has been positioned on a huge lotus built over a three-storied 54-ft structure called Bhadravedi. The ground floor comprising 63,444 square feet area has a pictorial presentation providing glimpses of Ramanujacharya’s life and his philosophy.
• On the second floor, there is a temple of Ramanujacharya in nearly 300,000 sq ft area, where a 120 kg gold statue of him will be installed for daily worship.
• On the top floor of 14,700 sq ft, there is a Vedic digital library and research centre.
• Outside the Bhadravedi, the statue will be surrounded by 108 Divya Desa Kshetras (Vaishnavite temples located across the country) built in stone in a 34-acre land around the statue.
• The functionaries of the ashram have said that they will install flags of all the countries of the world near the statue to give it a universal appeal. They say it is being done in accordance with idea of equality propagated by Sri Ramanujacharya in all aspects of living, including faith, caste and creed.
• The statue has been conceptualised by Chinna Jeeyar Swamy.