Ambedkar memorial in Mumbai gets Class ‘A’ status

The government on Friday accorded the Class ‘A’ pilgrimage and tourist destination status to Chaityabhoomi, the memorial of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

The government on Friday accorded the Class ‘A’ pilgrimage and tourist destination status to Chaityabhoomi, the memorial of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Workers ready Chaityabhoomi to mark the death anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on December 6 at Dadar. (Satyabrata Tripathy / Hindustan Times)

Meanwhile, a year after laying the foundation stone of the memorial, the government is unlikely to begin the construction of the memorial, at Indu Mills in Dadar, in the next few months. The government decided to begin the demolition of the old structure in the next few days.

The new status means that Chaityabhoomi will get the priority for maintenance and will be promoted extensively to attract tourists. Social justice minister Rajkumar Badole said, “After a continuous follow up, the Centre has given us the nod to accord the Class ‘A’ destination to the memorial.” Maharashtra has about 20 Class ‘A’ tourist destinations, including five world heritage sites such as CST railway station, Ajanta-Ellora, Elephanta, Kaas plateau.

“The Class ‘A’ destinations are promoted on the global map for tourism,” said Satish Soni, joint managing director, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation.

The minister said that the demolition of the old structure at Indu Mills will soon begin and the construction of the memorial may start in two months. According to sources, the construction, however, may not begin before April-May. “The delay in settling the compensation issue with the textiles ministry and the redesigning of the project delayed the project,” an official said.