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STATES: ANDHRA PRADESH
An Excessive Plastic Tribute
The bulk of the
creative memorial with its different structures utilises around 100 tonnes
of fibreglass. Being malleable, fibreglass has the advantage of being
moulded into any conceivable shape at the time of construction but its
long-term disadvantages are that it retains heat, has a life of about
20 years and needs to be painted at regular intervals to retain the multicoloured
gloss. Unwittingly, the artist has chosen to make conspicuous use of plastic
to pay tribute to a man known for his contribution to the plastic arts.
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| GRANDEUR: One of the two fibreglass Nandi bulls
that will form part of the entrance |
Roy banks heavily on fibreglass, be it for the
striking entrance plaza-which includes the 30-ft tall mythological "Fountain
of Life" with its 120 nozzles, five gopurams that are to double as
ticket counters and two ornate Nandi bulls-the restaurant in the shape
of fruits; the car cafe with models of vintage cars; the Japanese garden
and the 40-ft tall tree modelled as a machan that will offer a full view
of the garden, the NTR memorial and the Hussain Sagar lake beyond. The
leaves of the fibreglass tree are made of brass. What's more, there are
big grasshoppers, beetles and other insects placed on the verdant lawns
that are well watered by fountains and fanciful water jets. All these
are aimed at leaving visitors awestruck.
"We are developing the NTR garden as a
park of international standards that will grab the attention and fire
the imagination of visitors," asserts HUDA Vice-Chairperson Lakshmi
Parthasarathy. There will be amusement and entertainment facilities, including
some souvenir shops, keeping in mind that it is contiguous to the NTR
memorial. For those who find it difficult to circumscribe the long stretch,
there is a toy train on a 2-km long circular railway track to afford a
glimpse of what is being described as the "new millennium garden".
There are also plans for a fibreglass cave called "Nirvana"
to depict the life and teachings of the Buddha. Along with a laser show,
other striking features are the bubble jet and the foam fountains on either
side of the approach ramp that leads to a central podium with four 10-m
tall columns with human forms-all in fibreglass.
In order to duck criticism that he had set aside
a vast area of prime public land to honour his father-in-law and to deflect
questions being raised by eco-activists, Naidu has demarcated the NTR
memorial as a separate enclosure on one side of the garden-park.
The NTR complex may stand apart for its sheer size but it is just one
among several controversial projects cropping up around the Hussain Sagar
lake in the middle of the bustling city. It also contravenes the original
lakeside plan presented by renowned architect Charles Correa to HUDA in
the 1970s. Environmental activists have opposed some of the projects,
including the building of a multiplex and an international convention
centre, as these encroach on the water spread and destroy an ecologically
rich area around the lake. Several NGOs and the umbrella Forum for Better
Hyderabad have taken the issue to the Andhra Pradesh High Court that is
yet to decide on the future of the Government's plans for beautifying
the city.
HUDA's Parthasarathy says that the NTR memorial
and the garden are not likely to be affected by any court decision because
they are not in the lake precincts but on land that belonged to a foreshore
power station built during the days of the Nizams. But that does not cut
much ice with the eco-activists who insist that the construction plot
was part of the Hussain Sagar lake. Ruing the hideous structures that
are cropping up in the area that was once the lake bed, they say that
HUDA has ignored the need for an environmental impact assessment before
giving the go-ahead for the projects mushrooming around one of Hyderabad's
best-known spots.
"The pace of the officially sponsored encroachment
is so quick that the statue of Buddha currently in the centre of the lake
will probably be at a street crossing in 2020," says Professor K.
Purushotham Reddy of the Citizens Against Pollution, a group fighting
to keep the lake clean. Such environmental concerns may be real, but when
a chief minister decides bigger is better-and more populist-can anyone
stop him?
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