Telangana martyrs memorial creator yet to get dues

HYDERABAD: The martyrs memorial at Gun Park may have become the symbol of Telangana struggle but four decades after installation and even after birth of the new state, it still awaits a formal inauguration and, its creator, his dues.
The memorial turned a monument symbolizing rebellion in recent years with students and politicians courting arrest at the Gun Park.Its place in the history of Telangana state was further cemented when the state's first chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao paid his respects at the memorial early Monday morning before being sworn in.
The structure was commissioned by the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad in 1972 despite opposition from the state government of the day to install a memorial for the 360 students killed in police firing during the 1969 Telangana protest. Sculptor Aekka Yadgiri Rao was selected to build a memorial after his proposal to carve out the structure from granite was approved. "I was chosen over several other sculptors of repute. I had huge boulders brought from Mysore which I later sculpted into the memorial," recalled Rao, 76, who shared an emotional moment with KCR at the memorial on Monday. "From the black stone base to marble lily flower atop the structure reflects the sacrifice and endeavor of the martyred students from each of the districts of Telangana," he added.
Rao, then a teacher at JNTU College of Fine Arts, was given the contract to build the monument for Rs 90,000 with a condition that the final payment would be revised subject to the outcome.
"I had put in extra elements like an additional step and polished the stone, besides using a monolith structure for the body of the memorial. I had done more than what I had proposed and was promised payment after measuring the memorial. The result was that the MCH owed me Rs 60,000. Every time I asked for it I was told the payment would be made after inauguration of the monument," Rao said. Till this day, the memorial has not been inaugurated.
Dr Chirenjeevi Kolluri, of the 1969 Telangana Movement Founder's Forum said his forum had tried to install name plaques in four languages at the site two years ago but their attempts were foiled by the state police.
As for Rao himself, he hopes his work gets the right recognition.
"It is not about money anymore though I knocked on several doors to get the remainder of my due and had also approached the courts but in vain. I simply hope that the new government gives me recognition in some form befitting my contribution," he said.