After public outrage, Abdul Kalam may get a proper memorial

Now there is a confusion about who owns the land
Kalam Memorial 3x2
Kalam Memorial 3x2
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Tamil Nadu government seems to have finally woken up to the need to build a proper memorial for late former President APJ Abdul Kalam at his hometown Rameswaram in Ramathapuram district, five months after his death. Construction material to build a boundary wall was brought to the Pei Karumbu burial ground at Rameswaram on Tuesday.

However, more delay in the completion of the construction can be anticipated as there is a confusion about who owns the land.

The pre-member committee, which is headed by urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu and which has to approve the memorial’s plan, has written to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa asking her to allot 2 acres of land instead of 1.5 acres that has currently been allotted, reported NDTV.

However, Jayalalithaa has said that the TN government has already "transferred the required land to the Central Government", which the central government officials deny.

Sources told The News Minute that the Tamil Nadu government has handed over the land to Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which is currently reviewing the site. The measurement to build the boundary wall was taken on Tuesday.

Image: Smitha TK

Image: Smitha TK

The sources added that Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which Kalam once headed, will be funding the memorial.

However, no instruction has yet been given by the DRDO about the construction of the memorial, as the plan has to be approved by the central government first. 

Until now, there were cats and dogs defecating near the spot as visitors sneaked through barricades and took photographs near the grave.

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