ALLAHABAD: Emulating the political symbolism of his predecessors, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav , chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday, announced the inauguration of a 30-foot-high marble statue of revered Vedic sage, Bharadwaj Muni, at Allahabad, which will be inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on January 17. Yogi’s statue-building spree clocks the six announcement in two months, which includes the mammoth 221m tall statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya and 25-foot-tall statue of former PM Vajpayee in Lucknow.Yogi Adityanath directed Allahabad Development Authority officials to expedite the Rs 60-lakh project to meet the deadline. To be built on 10-foot-high platform, the sage’s statue would tower over three other statues in close proximity at Balson junction — Deendayal Upadhyay, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi. Mythology has it that Lord Ram, Laxman and Sita met Bharadwaj at his ashram and sought directions for going to Chitrakoot during their 14-year exile.The CM was in the city to open the centuries-old Akshayavat for public view and unveil the idol of Saraswati and open Saraswati Koop (well) — all inside Akbar Fort in the Kumbh area.“Nearly Rs 7,000 crore have already been spent on statues and memorials by the BSP and SP governments and now the BJP government is also scraping state coffers like the regional parties,” said an IAS officer of the state financial department.Yogi has already ordered installation of statues of Swami Vivekanand in Raj Bhawan, Mahant Digvijay Nath and Mahant Avaidyanath of the same height in his home district, Gorakhpur. The BJP government is also building a memorial of legendary king, Suheldev Rajbhar in Ghazipur . Speaking to reporters, the chief minister said the Kumbh Mela organised on the banks of Ganga, Yamuna and (mythical) Saraswati would be the cleanest with water brimming after 50 years. The water levels would be maintained even after the mega religious fair under Namami Gange mission for which Rs 26,000 crore has been allocated, he said.The state government has planned release of 7,000 cusecs of water from Tehri dam and Narora barrage to Ganga to maintain free flow during the 49-day Kumbh. The state government will release additional 1,000 cusecs on auspicious bathing day, Mauni Amawasya.

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