PM To Visit City On Feb 5, Dedicate Ramanuja Statue To Nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Hyderabad on February 5.

At around 2:45 pm, the Prime Minister will visit the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) campus in Patancheru and kickstart the 50th anniversary celebrations of the institute.

He will also inaugurate ICRISAT's Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and ICRISAT's Rapid Generation Advancement Facility. These are dedicated to the small farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

He will also unveil a specially designed logo of ICRISAT, and launch a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion.

At around 5 pm, the PM will dedicate to the nation the "Statue of Equality", the 216-feet tall statue of the 11th century Bhakti saint Sri Ramanujacharya, at the ashram of the Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swamy on the outskirts of the city.

The statue is made of "panchaloha", a combination of five metals - gold, silver, copper, brass and zinc - and is amongst the tallest metallic statues of a person in a sitting position, in the world.

It is mounted on a 54-feet high base structure, named "Bhadra Vedi", which has floors devoted for a Vedic digital library and research centre, ancient Indian texts, a theatre, and an educational gallery detailing many works of Sri Ramanujacharya.

The statue has been conceptualised by Chinna Jeeyar Swamy.

During the program, a 3D presentation on the life and teaching of Sri Ramanujacharya will also be showcased.

The Prime Minister will also visit identical recreations of 108 Divya Desams (ornately carved temples) that surround the statue.

The inauguration of the Statue of Equality is a part of the 12-day Sri Ramanuja Sahasrabdi Samaroham, the ongoing 1,000th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Ramanujacharya.