Ambedkar Bhavan ready in a jiffy

PUNE, Nov 23: What will be another tourist spot for lakhs that visit Pune has been accomplished by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in a...

PUNE, Nov 23: What will be another tourist spot for lakhs that visit Pune has been accomplished by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in a time-frame that is a first for the civic body in any project it has undertaken. The monumental Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhavan at the busy Maldhakka chowk built at a whopping cost of Rs 2.5 crore is just awaiting a date with President K.R. Narayanan for its formal inauguration.

“A month should take care of the finishing touches,” says corporator Sadanand Shetty. The project was initiated during his term as the PMC standing committee chairman and received an enthusiastic response from the administration and general body which generously approved the funds. The project took barely two years for completion.

Built on a plot area of 2024.56 sq mts, the project faced practically no obstacle save for a hunger strike by Shetty in the initial stages. A pictorial biography of the architect of the Constitution of India will be boldly displayed in bronze letters at the exhibition hall. Important events – the Poona Pact, Pune Parvati Satyagraha, formation of the Scheduled Caste Federation and People’s Education Society, drafting of the constitution are among the other displays.

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A meeting of the consulting committee headed by Assistant Municipal Commissioner (Retd) N.D. Sawant and including Dr M.D. Nalawade, former registrar, University of Pune, Dr B.C. Vaidya from department of Geography, University of Pune, Avinash Pundalik, architect, Assistant Engineer (Building) Ramesh Mhedekar and others was held yesterday. Efforts are underway to obtain original documents and photographs for the exhibition hall, Sawant told The Indian Express.

The clay model of Ambedkar’s bust is ready. His portrait will be similar to the one that adorns Parliament house in New Delhi, Vaidya said. According to Pundalik, the 400-seating capacity of the air-conditioned auditorium in the Bhavan was also a prominent highlight, apart from the classic style in which the building relates to the historic past.

“There is also no dearth of material for stocking at the library,” says Nalawade. While the PMC will invite tenders at a later stage from private organisations towards the building’s maintenance, presently electrification work, laying the false ceiling and acoustics management required to be completed.

Mayor Vatsala Andekar has written to the President seeking an appointment, he added.