Buddha Statue of Hyderabad | |
---|---|
Location | Hussain Sagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India |
Coordinates | 17°24′56″N78°28′30″E / 17.41556°N 78.47500°E |
Height | 58 feet (18 meters) |
Dedicated | 1 December 1992 |
Founded | N. T. Rama Rao |
Sculptor | S.M.Ganapathi Sthapathi |
Governing body | Buddha Purnima Project Authority, HMDA |
Location of Buddha Statue in Hussain Sagar |
The Buddha Statue of Hyderabad is a monolith located in India. It is the world's tallest monolith of Gautama Buddha, erected on Gibraltar Rock in the middle of Hussain Sagar.
Hyderabad is the capital of the state of Telangana (separated from Andhra Pradesh on 2 June 2014). Between 1983 and 1989, N. T. Rama Rao served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. During his tenure, he spent large sums to erect several statues of people from the region's political and religious history. During his visit to New York, he saw the Statue of Liberty and was inspired by the efforts to restore it. He said "I wanted something like that great place to visit... That would have been my contribution to society." [1]
Rama Rao chose to depict Gautama Buddha because "he was a humanitarian who told the whole truth to the people. It is our pride." [1] After a long search, he found a solid white granite rock near Raigiri, Bhuvanagiri (Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district) on a mountainside 46 km outside Hyderabad. In October 1985 NTR inaugurated work on structure. For over a year, hundreds of labourers helped the temple architect and builder S.M.Ganapathi Sthapati create the statue. After five years and the expenditure of US$3 million, [1] the statue stood at 58 feet (18 m) and weighed 350 tons, making it the world's tallest monolithic statue of the Buddha. [2] A concrete platform measuring 15 feet (4.6 m), now referred to as the "Rock of Gibraltar," [3] was constructed in the middle of Hussain Sagar to aid in erecting the statue. The roads of the city were also widened for this purpose. [1]
This statue is located at Lumbini Park in the Hussain Sagar Island can be reached by boat in 15 minutes. [4] The statue is near to Lakdi-Ka-Pul, Khairatabad and Assembly Hyderabad metro stations.
Then government of Andhra Pradesh led by N. T. Rama Rao was ousted in 1989. By the next year, the statue was ready for erection. ABC Limited, a local company, was given the responsibility of transferring the statue onto the concrete platform. Using a trailer vehicle, the statue was brought to the shore of Hussain Sagar. On 10 March 1990, company workers shifted the statue on top of a barge. After traveling only 100 yards (91 m), the statue tipped and fell into the lake. [1] [5] The accident killed 10 people. [6]
After a two-year salvage operation, the statue was pulled out of the lake. [2] On 1 December 1992, the statue was installed on the platform successfully. In 2006, the Dalai Lama consecrated the statue after performing a ritual. [7]
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over three terms. He starred in over 300 films, predominantly in Telugu cinema, and was referred by the media as Viswa Vikhyatha Nata Sarvabhouma. Rao received three National Film Awards for co-producing Thodu Dongalu (1954) and Seetharama Kalyanam (1960) under National Art Theater, Madras, and for directing Varakatnam (1970). Known for his breakthrough performances in Raju Peda (1954) and Lava Kusa (1963), Rao garnered the Nandi Award for Best Actor for Kodalu Diddina Kapuram in 1970, and the Inaugural Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu in 1972 for Badi Panthulu.
The Politics of Andhra Pradesh take place in the context of a bicameral parliamentary system within the Constitutional framework of India. The main parties in the state are the YSR Congress Party, Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena Party. Other parties that have small presence in the state include the Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Left parties.
NTR Gardens is a small public, urban park of 36 acres adjacent to Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad, India. It is named after the former Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao. Constructed in several phases since 1999, the area that is predominantly a park is geographically located in the centre of the city, and is close to other tourist attractions such as Birla Mandir, Necklace Road and Lumbini Park. It is maintained by the Buddha Purnima Project Authority that functions under the directives of the Government of Telangana.
Ranga Reddy district is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. The district headquarters is located at Lakdikapool, Hyderabad. The district was named after the former deputy chief minister of the United Andhra Pradesh, K. V. Ranga Reddy. The district shares boundaries with Nalgonda, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Hyderabad, Medchal–Malkajgiri, Nagarkurnool, Mahabubnagar, Sangareddy and Vikarabad districts.
Tanguturi Anjaiah (1919–1986), popularly known as T. Anjaiah, was an Indian politician who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from October 1980 to February 1982. He won from Ramayampet Assembly Constituency.
Hanuman Junction is a town which lies between the borders of Krishna and Eluru District of Andhra Pradesh state in India. Hanuman Junction gets its name because it is located in the X-Junction of NH-16 & AH-45.
The Tank Bund Road is a road in Secunderabad, Hyderabad, India. The Tank Bund dams Hussain Sagar lake on the eastern side and connects the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. It has become an attraction with 33 statues of famous people from the region.
Sanjeevaiah Park is a public greenspace and park in the heart of Hyderabad, India. Built on 92 acres (37 ha) along the banks of Hussain Sagar lake, the park is named after Damodaram Sanjivayya, an erstwhile Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The park is managed by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority. The park won the Best Open Landscape Award during the 2010 Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage award presentations. The park also houses the second tallest Indian Flag.
Lumbini Park, officially T. Anjaiah Lumbini Park, is a small public, urban park of 3 hectares adjacent to Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad, India. Since it is located in the centre of the city and is in close proximity to other tourist attractions, such as Birla Mandir and Necklace Road, it attracts many visitors throughout the year. Boating is one of the best part and people go to the Buddha idol placed in the middle of the tank band in the boats. Constructed in 1994, the park is named after the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh T. Anjaiah. The park is maintained by the Buddha Purnima Project Authority that functions under the directives of the Government of Telangana. In 2007, it was one of the targets of the 25 August 2007 Hyderabad bombings that killed 44 people.
Bollavarapu Venkata Subba Reddy, shortly B. V. Subba Reddy B.L., was an Indian independence activist, politician and Speaker of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
Jalavihar is a waterpark located in Hyderabad, Telangana, (India) within an area of about 12.5 acres (5.1 ha). Located beside Sanjeevaiah Park and along the Hussain Sagar lake, the park was inaugurated on 20 May 2007.
Hussain Sagar is a heart-shaped lake in Hyderabad, Telangana, built by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah in 1563. It is spread across an area of 5.7 square kilometres (2.2 sq mi) and is fed by the River Musi. A large monolithic statue of the Gautama Buddha, erected in 1992, stands on Gibraltar Rock in the middle of the lake. It also separates the city centre of Hyderabad from its neighbourhood Secunderabad. The maximum depth of the lake is 32 feet (9.8 m)
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao served as Chief Minister of United Andhra Pradesh for three terms, between 1983 and 1995. He was the first person to hold the office while not a member of the Indian National Congress, while representing the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which he himself founded in 1982. Rama Rao's time in office saw his ousting in an August 1984 coup after 1½ years in office, while he was abroad in the US undergoing coronary heart surgery. He was removed by Thakur Ram Lal, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, and replaced with Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, the finance minister. Having come back from surgery, Rama Rao regained his position through demonstrating his majority support from members of the Indian Legislative Assembly. He returned to office in September 1984.
Khairatabad Ganesh is an idol of the Hindu god Ganesha that is installed during the annual festival of Ganesh Chaturthi at Khairatabad locality of Hyderabad, India. Constructed annually and known for its height and the laddu held in the figure's hand, the idol is worshipped during the 10-day festival where thousands of devotees visit every day. On the 11th day, the idol is immersed in the nearby Hussain Sagar lake.
Sattanatha Muthiah Ganapathi, popularly known as S. M. Ganapathi sthapathi, was an Indian architect and builder (sthapati) of traditional Hindu temple architecture. He was known for his contribution in saving 48 archaeologically important temples near the Nagarjun Sagar reservoir from submergence. Orirukkai Manimantapam, Ramalayam and Kalyana Mandapam at Bhadrachalam and the Mahamantapam of the Badrinath Temple are some of his notable creations. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1990.
Chandavaram Buddhist site is an ancient Indian Buddhist site in Chandavaram village in Prakasam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Situated on the bank of Gundlakamma River, the site is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northwest of Donakonda railway station. The Chandavaram Buddhist site was built between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE during the Satavahana dynasty and was discovered by Veluri Venkata Krishna Sastry in 1964.
The Dhyana Buddha is a statue of Gautama Buddha seated in a meditative posture located in Amaravathi of Andhra Pradesh, India. Completed in 2015, the statue is 125 ft (38 m) tall and is situated on a 4.5-acre site on the banks of the Krishna river. It is embellished with modern reproductions of sculptures from the Amaravati School of art which flourished in the region in 200 BC to 200 AD.
Andhra Pradesh, retrospectively referred to as United Andhra Pradesh,Undivided Andhra Pradesh or Ummadi Andhra Pradesh, was a state in India formed by States Reorganisation Act, 1956 with Hyderabad as its capital and was reorganised by Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The state was made up of three distinct cultural regions of Telangana, Rayalaseema, and Coastal Andhra. Before the 1956 reorganisation Telangana had been part of Hyderabad State ruled by Nizam of Hyderabad, whereas Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra had been part of Andhra State, formerly a part of Madras Presidency ruled by British India.