Nearly two months after they were draped on orders of the Election Commission, authorities on Sunday started unveiling the statues of Chief Minister Mayawati and Bahujan Samaj Party's election symbol, elephant, as the poll process in Uttar Pradesh came to an end.
A day after the Election Commission ordered the State government to uncover the statues, authorities at the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida initiated the process.
Though the Prerna Sthal was inaugurated by Ms. Mayawati in October last, it could not be thrown open to the public as some work was still going on.
Later, due to the announcement of the model code of conduct, its opening was delayed. Now, officials are planning to open it soon.
At Greater Noida too, the elephant statues at Badalpur parks and entry point were unveiled.
Work on unveiling the statues of the BSP election symbol was also underway in all the major parks in Lucknow.
A number of labourers were involved in unveiling the statues of Ms. Mayawati and elephants since morning at the Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal in Lucknow, a senior official said here.
Work was also going on in other parks and some crossings, where elephants were draped, he said.
The labourers were seen washing and cleaning statues after they were unveiled. The iron structure around a statue of Mayawati that was covered with ply was also removed.
On Saturday, the Election Commission's Secretary wrote to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary, saying that the statues draped in the wake of its January 8 order should be uncovered forthwith as the election process was completed in the State.
