Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Hyderabad on Saturday, February 5 to dedicate to the country the 216-foot-tall statue of 11th-century Vaishnava guru Sri Ramanujacharya at the Chinna Jeeyar Swamy Ashram in Muchintal, on the outskirts of the city.

The statue of the Vaishnava saint, known as the statue of equality, is being unveiled to commemorate the Vaishnava saint's 1,000th birthday and to honour his efforts to reform Hinduism. In the year 1017, the saint was born.

The Statue of Equality is built of panchaloha, a five-metal alloy consisting of gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc, and is one of the world's tallest metallic statues in the sitting posture. It is supported by a 54-foot-high base structure known as 'Bhadra Vedi,' which holds a Vedic digital library and research centre, ancient Indian literature, a theatre, and an educational gallery dedicated to Ramanujacharya's works. Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram's Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamy came up with the idea.

For the Prime Minister's arrival, the state administration is making significant preparations. On Thursday, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao paid a visit to Chinna Jeeyar Swamy's ashram to assess the situation. The Chief Minister also attended the Sri Ramanuja Sahasrabdi Samaroham event, which ran from February 2 to 14 at the ashram.

Prior to unveiling the statue, the Prime Minister will kick off the 50th anniversary celebrations of ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) by laying the foundation stone for two new research facilities on the campus: the Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and the Rapid Generation Advancement Facility. Small farmers in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa will benefit from the two facilities. He'll also present an Icrisat logo created specifically for the occasion, as well as a commemorative stamp.

PM approves Ken-Betwa link project, said- 'Bundelkhand will be changed'

CM Shivraj met PM Modi, expressed his gratitude for the Ken-Betwa link project

Under-construction building collapses in Pune, many died; PM Modi expresses grief