With only a day left for meeting the Election Commission's deadline, the work of covering the statues of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati and elephants finally got underway at the Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal in Gomtinagar and Kanshi Ram Memorial and Green Eco Garden on Jail Road here on Tuesday.
The work of covering the statues in Noida and Greater Noida in Gautam Buddha Nagar district commenced on Monday.
Proceeding at a brisk pace in Lucknow and Noida, the ‘covering' exercise is likely to continue till late in the night, notwithstanding the intense cold wave sweeping these parts.
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Work at the massive Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal and Ambedkar Park, which houses statues of Ms. Mayawati and over 50 statues of elephants, besides numerous murals, commenced at 11 a.m. A makeshift iron framework was constructed at the site where Ms. Mayawati's life-size statue stood alongside that of her mentor, Kanshi Ram, under a canopy. The ‘covering' exercise would commence later, official sources said. Ms. Mayawati's statues would be covered with pink cloth.
Even as the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) took time to drape her statue, about a dozen elephants at the Samajik Parivartan Sthal were covered with yellow tarpaulin sheet. Another elephant statue at the Kanshi Ram Memorial was also covered with yellow sheet. There are over 50 elephant statues at the memorial.
Reports quoting the Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida) district administration said the work of draping 36 elephant statues and two statues of Ms. Mayawati at the Surajpur entry point in Greater Noida were over. Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate Hridesh Kumar said works at Ms. Mayawati's home village, Badalpur, Gautam Buddha University and the Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida were on.
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