Prez Kovind lays foundation stone for Ambedkar memorial in Lucknow

President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar Memorial and Cultural Centre here. The cultural department is likely to start the construction work soon.

Lucknow:President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar Memorial and Cultural Centre here. The President laid the foundation stone for the centre, to come up in Aishbagh, at an event in Lok Bhawan here. The event was also attended by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma.

Kovind, who is in Lucknow on a two-day visit to the state capital, arrived here from Kanpur on Monday morning and will leave for Delhi on Tuesday evening. Last week, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet had approved a proposal of the state cultural department for the construction of the Ambedkar Memorial Cultural Centre in Aishbagh.

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The memorial will come up at 5493.52 sq metre ''nazul'' land in front of the Aishbagh Eidgah and will also have a 25-ft high statue of Dr Ambedkar. The memorial, to come up at a cost of Rs 45.04 crore, will also have an auditorium having a capacity of 750 people, library, research centre, picture gallery, museum, a multi-purpose convention centre, cafeteria, dormitory and other facilities. The cultural department is likely to start the construction work soon.

(PTI)