A grand memorial for the former chief minister J Jeyalalitha will come up shortly on the Marina beach, chennai. The memorial resembling a Phoenix with lions standing guard, spread over 50,000 sqft will come up on the Marina beach. The monument is set to cost the government Rs 50.8 crore,for which the foundation stone was laid by the chief minister E k Palanisami along with dy. CM O. Panneerselvam. An artist’s impression of the upcoming memorial, released by the government, suggests a wing-shaped phoenix-like structure with lions standing guard at the entrance.
The CM and his deputy sat through two-hour long vedic rituals along with party office-bearers and cadres before laying the foundation. CM and Panneerselvam together placed the bricks on the ground located in the rear of the memorial of Jayalalithaa’s mentor and AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran.
Opposition leaders meanwhile reiterated their condemnation of the move. DMK working president Stalin said Jayalalithaa had been proven guilty and was the prime accused in the disproportionate assets case. Officials said a four-member committee led by PWD engineer-in-chief, comprising members from school of architecture, Anna University and CMDA zeroed in on the design after global competitive bidding. With IIT Madras being chosen as consultant, the memorial would be built on a par with international standards. A museum and knowledge park on an area of 8,555sqft each will come up on the northern and southern end.
The government expects that the memorial complex will get at least one lakh visitors on an average every day. The curvilinear walls, photo gallery and wax statues of Jayalalithaa will be added features, while the audio visual section will play her motivational stories, inspirational quotes and speeches,according to official sources. The complex spread over 9.09acres will be revamped with four pavilions on the granite footpath. About 110m-long covered footpath at the entrance will have solar panels to generate power. Water cascades and green belt will be developed, besides underground area for keeping footwear of visitors.
