New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Hyderabad today at around 2:45 PM. He will first visit the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) campus in Patancheru, Hyderabad, and kickstart their 50th-anniversary celebrations.
There he will inaugurate a Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and ICRISAT’s Rapid Generation Advancement Facility. He will also unveil a new logo for ICRISAT and launch a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion.
After this, he will unveil the 216 feet tall ‘Statue of Equality’ that commemorates the 11th-century Bhakti Saint Sri Ramanujacharya at 5 PM.
The statue dedicated to Sri Ramanujacharya is made of ‘panchaloha’, a combination of five metals: gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc and is among the world’s tallest metallic statues in sitting position.
The ‘panchaloha’ symbolises Sri Ramanujacharya’s idea of equality in all aspects of living including faith, caste, and creed. The statue is mounted on a 54-feet high base building named ‘Bhadra Vedi’, which has floors dedicated to the Vedic digital library and research center.
The floors of the building also have spaces for ancient Indian texts, a theatre, and an educational gallery detailing many works of Sri Ramanujacharya. The statue has been conceptualised by Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami of Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram.
The inauguration of the statue is a part of the 12-day long Sri Ramanuja Sahasrabdi Samaroham, the ongoing 1000th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Ramanujacharya.
For the Prime Minister's visit, elaborate security arrangements have been made considering the security breach incident during the PM’s visit to Punjab.