New Delhi: At Rs. 685 crore, it is an expensive dream. But Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has pulled out all stops to ensure that it becomes a grand reality and at 5 pm this evening she will arrive by helicopter to inaugurate the Rashtriya Dalit Smarak in Noida.
The memorial is meant to honour Dalit icons and has over two dozen huge statues of Mayawati, her mentor Kanshi Ram and Dr BR Ambedkar, among others.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief will first cut a ribbon and then is expected to address about 40,000 party workers. A special helipad is set up at the Apeejay School ground in Noida’s Film City for the CM’s helicopter to land and take off.
The Noida administration, out to impress “Behenji,” has left no stone unturned for a grand opening of the park. High-tech LED lights and fountains are in place and a special security force will permanently guard the memorial. More traffic diversions are expected between 2 pm and 8 pm.
But Noida residents might not share the proud smiles of BSP workers. Traffic woes have already begun with huge jams being reported. Traffic is being diverted at several places ahead of the inauguration – including at the Film City crossing and Mahamaya flyover.(Traffic mess in Noida)
Noida saw long traffic jams throughout the day yesterday too with several important stretches partly blocked to allow last-minute renovation work.
Residents in fact have had Mayawati’s memorial park is built on a land that initially housed a public park. When work first began on Mayawati’s dream memorial in 2008, Noida residents were upset as they were denied access to the park. Then, over 6000 trees were cut.
Angry residents moved the Supreme Court. An initial enquiry ordered by the Environment Ministry found several environmental violations. And the fact that the memorial was coming up close to the Okhla Bird Sanctuary further complicated matters. But in December last year, the Supreme Court cleared the project with a rider – not more than 25 percent of the total 84 acres could be paved, the rest would have to be planted with trees.
Several other appeals in court have challenged Mayawati’s decision to use taxpayers’ money to fund her mega memorials. Many of those remain unsettled. Accusing Mayawati of having a feudal mindset, Opposition parties have alleged that she has spent crores of rupees of public money for installing statues of her family members. “After statues of Dalit icons like Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram have been set up at several places, Mayawati is out to install statues of her parents,” Congress spokesman Subodh Srivastava said.
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