By IANS,
Lucknow : Unmindful of the apex court’s stern directive, construction activity continued in full swing at each of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s dream projects here Wednesday.
Taking serious view against use of the tax-payer’s thousands of crores for building memorials, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice B.N. Agarwal Tuesday directed the state government to suspend work at various monuments being built in Lucknow in the name of ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) icons.
These include at least half a dozen statues of Mayawati as well.
While the state administration had deployed a large contingent of policemen to prevent entry of mediapersons inside any of the memorials or monuments, construction activity was clearly visible from the buildings around.
To keep photojournalists at bay, policemen were positioned atop tall government buildings in the neighbourhood, including a water tank.
Yet, some photojournalists managed to shoot pictures showing hundreds of labourers at work at different sites – the Kanshi Ram memorial, Buddha Sthal, Ambedkar memorial and Prerna Bhawan in Lucknow.
Hundreds of vehicles kept moving in and out of the 25-acre Kanshi Ram memorial and the adjoining 40-acre land just acquired for laying an eco park, after the demolition and shifting of Lucknow jail. The permission for shifting the jail was granted by the apex court last month.
Significantly, the state government’s senior counsel Satish Chandra Misra, who is also Mayawati’s most trusted lieutenant and the BSP’s Brahmin mascot, Tuesday orally assured the apex court that the state would abide by its direction to suspend the construction work.
State officials were tight-lipped on the issue.