Ambedkar memorial work to begin at Indu Mills in a month, CM Fadnavis announces

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that the actual work of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar memorial at Indu Mills will start within a month.

Fadnavis made the announcement at Chaityabhoomi in Central Mumbai after paying tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar.

People from across Maharashtra and various parts of the country come to Chityabhoomi at Shivaji Park on December 6, to marks the death anniversary of Ambedkar.

The 12 acres of Indu Mill land was transferred to the state government in March this year.

Meanwhile, the construction cost of 350-foot-long Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial is likely to be above Rs 750 crore as the single bidder that has shown interest in constructing it has quoted almost 25 % more than the estimation of Rs 622 crore anticipated by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

The MMRDA had floated bids for construction of Ambedkar Memorail in April 2017 at an estimated cost of Rs 550 crore; however, after receiving only a single bidder, the bids were re-floated at Rs 622 crore in the first week of November. The reason for escalation in cost was the proposed use of special steel for the Memorial considering it is near Arabian Sea and the steel has to be anti-corrosion.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid homage to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar on death anniversary.

The Prime Minister tweeted: "I bow to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar on his Mahaparinirvan Diwas."

"Felt extremely blessed when I prayed at Chaitya Bhoomi in Mumbai. Sharing some pictures from that visit," he said in another tweet.

I bow to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar on his Mahaparinirvan Diwas. pic.twitter.com/wRqZH5ggny

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 6, 2017