Tallest statue of RSS thinker Deendayal Upadhyaya to be installed in Kashi

The statue of RSS ideologue Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay is made of five metals and is crafted by artistes of a Jaipur-based firm.

A 63-ft tall statue of RSS thinker Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya, which would be installed at Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Memorial Centre (DDUMC), will be visible directly from ghats and other locations of Varanasi. The centre is being developed at around 12 acre of land in Padao on Varanasi-Chandauli border.

Construction under way to develop Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay Memorial Centre on Varanasi-Chandauli border. (HT Photo)

“The tallest statue of Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya is ready. It will be installed on DDUMC premises within a month from now. Work to develop the centre is already in progress. The statue is made of five metals and is crafted by artistes of a Jaipur-based firm. UP Ganna Sansthan has made the land available for the centre,” said town planner at Varanasi Development Authority Manoj Kumar.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced the centre last year in August and Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) was asked to prepare a detailed project report.

The project includes a museum, auditorium, exhibition centre and a Vedic garden having plants and trees of medicinal importance.

“The project is worth ₹78 crore and is centrally funded. The Centre has already sanctioned ₹39 crore of which ₹13 crore has been released,” Kumar said adding that over ₹6 crore has been allocated for the statue. UP minister Neelkanth Tiwari on Wednesday carried out inspection of the site.“Instructions have been issued to VDA officials to raise the height of the platform where the statue would be set up by 10 ft so that people visiting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency may see the statue from far away,” Tiwari said.

“The museum, library and audio/video system will apprise the people of life and time of Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. It will be equipped with an auditorium to accommodate 1,500 people. It will be equipped with solar-energy system and will have a dedicated parking place,” the minister said.

He said, “VDA vice chairman Rajesh Kumar has been instructed to monitor the whole project and ensure its fast completion.”

Last year, name of Mughalsarai Junction was changed to Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya.

Upadhyaya’s body was found near a traction pole near Mughalsarai railway station in February 1968 under mysterious circumstances.

Pt Upadhyaya was founder member of Bharatiya Jansangh, the precursor to present day Bharatiya Janata Party.