World’s tallest statue: Andhra Pradesh govt to unveil 206-ft tall statue of Dr BR Ambedkar today | 5 facts

The Andhra Pradesh government will unveil the world's tallest statue of the architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar on Friday. The mammoth statue’s inauguration is scheduled for 6 pm today.

According to the AP government, the BR Ambedkar statue has been erected at Swaraj Maidan grounds in Vijaywada. Andhra government has called it the, “Statue of Social Justice”.

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"Let us collectively celebrate this remarkable achievement and honour the legacy of Ambedkar, whose contributions continue to shape our collective consciousness," YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh wrote on X.

“The statue has been installed with great responsibility as the government has been implementing the Navaratnalu welfare schemes with unfettered confidence in his (Ambedkar) ideology,” he added. He noted that the visionary’s sky-high individuality and reform-oriented ideas expressed a century ago would continue to influence and rewrite the social, economic and political history of the country, especially that of women.

Last year, tallest statue of B R Ambedkar was formally inaugurated in a Maryland suburb in Washington. The US's statue is 19-foot tall.

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Here are five facts about the BR Ambedkar statue in Andhra Pradesh

• In comparison to Sardar Vallabhai Patel's Statue of Unity (597 feet tall), the height of BR Amdekar's statue is 206 feet.
• The 206-foot tall sculpture was installed on an 81-foot pedestal at the Ambedkar Smriti Vanam, Amaravati.
• The project incurred a cost of ₹404.35 crore and is spread over 18.81 acres.
• The contractor agency M/s KPC Projects Ltd, Hyderabad completed the construction while the design of the project was laid out by M/s Design Associates, Noida, Deccan Herald reported.
• Alongside the statute, there will be six water bodies in the forecourt, a musical water fountain in the centre, and 3 sided peripheral waterbody for the pedestal building and greenery. The overall re-development along with the statue’s construction was done in 18.81 acres of land.

Born on April 14, 1891, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar - popular among his followers as Babasaheb - was the chairman of the Constituent Assembly’s most crucial Drafting Committee that earned him the moniker Architect of the Indian Constitution. He died on December 6, 1956, months after he embraced Buddhism on October 14 that year.