Immortalising Abdul Kalam’s legacy
Khammam-based body to install ‘Missile Man’s’ statues across TG and AP
A Khammam-based organisation, Vibrants of Kalam, has embarked on a special project to immortalise the legacy of aerospace scientist and former President of India, late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
As part of the initiative, the organisation plans to install statues of Dr Kalam in all the erstwhile districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Thirteen statues prepared for Andhra Pradesh were unveiled by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in May this year at Amaravati.
Speaking to the media, Vibrants of Kalam founder Vijay Kalam said that each statue, standing 10 ft tall, has been sculpted by Modugu Prasad of Tiruvur in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district. Work on statues meant for Telangana is currently underway. The height of the statue symbolises the tenth death anniversary of Dr Kalam, observed this year. Vijay plans to have the first statue in Telangana unveiled by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy this November.
He said the entire project would cost around Rs 1 crore, including Rs 1 lakh per statue and the cost of constructing platforms for installation.
Explaining the inspiration behind the initiative, he shared that even a decade after Dr Kalam’s passing, there were few places where admirers could pay homage on his birth and death anniversaries.
“As the founder of Vibrants of Kalam, the largest organisation in the country dedicated to spreading the vision and ideology of Dr Kalam, I felt it was my responsibility to ensure his legacy lives on for future generations,” he said.
Notably, the organisation aims to complete installations across all 23 erstwhile districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh by July 27 next year, coinciding with Dr Kalam’s death anniversary.
“Annual events such as elocution, essay writing, and quiz competitions will also be organised for students and youth on his birth and death anniversaries to promote his ideals,” Vijay added.
