Indore (Madhya Pradesh): On the occasion of Mahaparinirvan Diwas of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on December 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will declare his birthplace located in Mhow a national heritage site. Modi will conduct the programme virtually.
Under the ‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’, a Panchteerth programme will be organised on the occasion, in which five places in the country associated with Dr Ambedkar will be declared national heritage sites by the Prime Minister, including the birthplace of Dr Ambedkar in Mhow.
Collector Manish Singh visited Dr Ambedkar’s birthplace on Wednesday afternoon to take stock of the preparations being made for the programme. He also gave the necessary directions to the officials concerned regarding the conduct of the programme. Collector Singh said he had requested the commissioner of the Scheduled Castes Development Department of Madhya Pradesh for approval of the amount necessary for maintaining the place as a national heritage site.
Two types of action plans—short term (before December 6) and long term—have been prepared to give the birthplace the shape of a national-level site. In the short-term programme, repair and maintenance work of the birthplace-cum-memorial, establishment of an ashes urn monument, marble cleaning work of the entire memorial complex, big and small statues of Baba Saheb, special paintings of elephants on the railings and so forth have to be completed. The total cost of these works is estimated to be Rs 1.07 crore. In the long-term action plan, construction of a gallery of speeches made by Dr Ambedkar in the Lok Sabha, installation of a 70-foot Tricolor, digital speech hall on screen, Preamble of the Constitution and so forth are included.
