The foundation stone laying ceremony for construction of the new capital at Amaravati will have an added attraction in the form of a sand sculpture of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu measuring 50 feet, at Krishnaveni Ghat downstream River Krishna here.
The replica of the capital city and a Buddha statue will also be readied by sand artists abutting the sculpture with a national flag atop. With the help of sand artists from Nellore and Visakhapatnam, real estate businessman Mallampati Sandeep from Bhavanipuram has come up with the idea of making the sand sculpture involving an expenditure of over Rs. 3 lakh. The sculpture is expected to be ready by October 21.
Visitors can enter the site from the Ganesh Temple near Krishnaveni Ghat. Mr. Sandeep said work had been taken up with prior permission of the Irrigation Department authorities. “We are using over 1,200 tonnes of sand to make the 50-ft sculpture and barricades will be placed to maintain proper queues,” he said.
He claimed that the idea to make 50-ft sand sculpture was to break the 39-ft sculpture that had entered the Guinness Book of World Records.
“We also want to spread the message about the efforts being made by the State government to build a world class capital at Amaravati,” he said.
Mr. Naidu, Ministers and senior party leaders are expected to visit the site on October 21. The organisers have decided not to dismantle the sculpture but allow it to dissolve in water.
