Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden
Entrance of the Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden in 2012
TypePublic, memorial park
LocationNoida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates28°34′05″N 77°18′42″E / 28.568057°N 77.311784°E / 28.568057; 77.311784
Operated byGreater Noida Authority
StatusOpen year round

The Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden (National Dalit Inspiration Place and Green Garden) is a memorial in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.[1][2][3] It was commissioned by former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati and inaugurated on 14 October 2011.[4][5][6] Cost of ticket for entry is ₹20 with 7000 visitors every week[7] and 10000 visitors on Ambedkar Jayanti.[8]

Museum

The memorial includes a mini-museum known as the Rashtriya Dalit Smarak (National Dalit Memorial) and a green expanse built on an area of 82.5 acres along the banks of river Yamuna.[4] The Rashtriya Dalit Smarak is spread over 33 acres of land, and includes the idols consecrated for the people who devoted their life for humanity, equality and social justice, including Gautama Buddha, Sant Shiromani Raidass, Sant Kabir, Jan Nayak Birsa Munda, E V Periyar Ramasami, Narayana Guru, Chattrapati Sahuji Maharaj, Bhimrao Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule and Kanshi Ram . It also has twenty-four eighteen-foot high sandstone statues of elephants, the symbol for traditional Indian Welcome .[9] The monument is dedicated to the social reformer and has been constructed to honour the "unparalleled struggle of these stalwarts towards the struggle for social transformation".[10]

History

National Dalit Memorial Noida.

Construction

The park was built at a cost of ₹6.85 billion[11] and the Mayawati government expected to recover the cost from ticket sales.[12] In October 2009, the Supreme Court of India had ordered the Mayawati government to halt construction work, amid concerns that the project might "not be eco-friendly" as it is located near the Okhla Sanctuary. In December 2010, the court withdrew its earlier concerns and the project was allowed to proceed.[13] Since the memorial also featured her own statues, political opponents accused the Chief Minister of being a "megalomaniac", and she was criticized by the Indian National Congress, among whose members would voice accusations of her "wasting the tax-payers' money".[9] Mayawati's BSP dismissed the allegations, stating that her statues were erected because Kanshi Ram's will requests that his statues should be constructed next to the current President of the BSP. Mayawati also accused the Congress of being "anti-Dalit".[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Valdmanis, Richard (15 October 2013). "Photo gallery: A walk through Mayawati's Dalit park". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Visitors throng Noida memorial on Ambedkar birthday". hindustantimes.com. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden in Noida". A Glimpse Of India. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 Arpit Parashar (25 October 2011). "Maya's dream park is far from complete". Tehelka. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  5. ↑ Arvind, Ayesha (4 October 2011). "Noida Park set to open on Oct 14". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Offensive, Marking Them (2 October 2013). "Noida Dalit Park opens today, fee Rs 20". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "A day in the life of Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida". The Indian Express. 17 February 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  8. ↑ N, TN. "Prerna Sthal visitors park cars on road, choke Film City for six hours". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 Preetika Rana (18 October 2011). "Dalit Park: Boon or Bane for Mayawati?". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  10. ↑ Dipankar Ghose (13 October 2011). "Maya park dedicated to 'victims of iniquitous social order'". Indian Express. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  11. ↑ "Mayawati to inaugurate 685-crore Noida memorial park today". NDTV. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  12. ↑ "Head of India's poorest state opens £10 million theme park dedicated to her family". The Telegraph. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  13. ↑ "India court okays Dalit leader Mayawati's statues park". BBC. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.