Amaravati, Mar 16: N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, on Monday unveiled a 58-foot bronze statue of freedom fighter Potti Sriramulu in Amaravati to mark his 125th birth anniversary, commemorating the leader who sacrificed his life for the formation of a separate state for Telugu-speaking people.
The statue, titled “Amarajeevi – Statue of Sacrifice,” has been installed at Shakhamuru Park as part of a memorial project developed by the Potti Sriramulu Memorial Trust. The towering structure symbolically represents Sriramulu’s historic 58-day fast unto death, which eventually led to the creation of Andhra State in 1953.
Spread across 6.80 acres, the first phase of the memorial project has been completed at an estimated cost of ₹150 crore. Officials said the statue was constructed in a record six months, using around 26 tonnes of bronze and 42 tonnes of iron framework.
Describing the project, officials said the monument is “the first major monumental sculpture to be established in Amaravati.”
Several prominent leaders attended the unveiling ceremony and paid floral tributes to Sriramulu. Those present included Union Minister of State for Rural Development Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, State Minister for IT and Education Nara Lokesh, and BJP Andhra Pradesh president P. V. N. Madhav, along with several other ministers and public representatives.
Officials said the statue complex will be expanded in the second phase, which will include the construction of a museum, photo gallery, auditorium and skill development centre around the memorial site.
“The memorial complex is intended to preserve the legacy of Sriramulu and highlight his role in the movement that led to the formation of Andhra State,” officials said.
The unveiling of the statue marks another step in the state government’s efforts to develop Amaravati as the capital city, following the recent inauguration of the administrative building of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA), which houses several state department offices.
