Bhumi Puja held for construction of ‘Tribute Wall’ at Shilparamam

TIRUPATI: To honour the remarkable sacrifices made by freedom fighters, a Tribute Wall will be constructed at Tirupati Shilparamam premises. As part of the efforts to construct 100 such walls across the country, three tribute walls will come up in AP while Tirupati will be the first among these. The other two are planned at Punnami Ghat in Vijayawada and Bheemili beach in Visakhapatnam. AP Assembly Speaker Thammineni Seetharam, Minister R K Roja, Puducherry Assembly speaker Embalam R Selvam and others took part in the Bhoomi Puja programme on Monday.

Chakra Vision India Foundation Trust kickstarted the project first in Puducherry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi commended the idea and asked AR Rajasekhar of the Foundation to extend the project to 75 locations across the country aligning with the 75th year of Independence. Now, the Foundation has been making efforts to build 100 installations.

In AP, it has been implementing the project in association with AP Tourism department and Shilparamam Arts and Crafts and Cultural Society. The impressive tribute structure stands tall at a height of 10 feet and stretches over a length of 60 feet. It prominently displays an image of Bharat Mata.

Among the countless individuals who played pivotal roles in our nation’s struggle for freedom, the Great Tribute Wall of Sacrifice will commemorate 1,040 significant fighters by individually etching their names, along with their respective States and the periods during which they lived, onto granite stones.

Additionally, a towering 100-foot flagpole will proudly fly our national flag in front of the Great Wall of Sacrifice. Speaking on the occasion of foundation stone laying ceremony, AP Assembly Speaker Thammineni Seetharam said that the country attained freedom with the sacrifices of freedom fighters and it is important to acquaint the upcoming generation about these heroic individuals who exhibited great courage in the freedom struggle. He felt that the State stands over other States in the country in fulfilling the true spirit of Gram Swarajya.

Minister R K Roja stated that the tribute wall is not just a wall but it is like a sacred temple.

The names and details of several patriots in the country will be etched on the wall along with the period of their living. Also, flanking the sacrificial wall, pillars will be there with a QR code linked to the Chakra App and by scanning this code one will get access to the history of those freedom fighters.

Collector K Venkataramana Reddy, Mayor Dr R Sirisha, MPs Dr M Gurumoorthy and N Reddeppa, Puducherry speaker Selvam and others spoke on the occasion. Shilparamam CEO Shyam Sundar Reddy, Tourism department regional director Ramana Prasad, district tourism officer Rupendranath Reddy, Shilparamam administrative officer Khadarvalli and others participated.