HYDERABAD: A memorial for late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in the State capital will come up at a four-acre site opposite Imax theatre, near Necklace Road, it is learnt.
Out of four or five proposed sites considered by the Cabinet sub-committee to select a suitable place for the memorial in city, the site near the Imax, which is being presently used for marketing second hand cars, has been finalised.
Meanwhile, the ambitious memorial ‘Smriti Vanam’ proposed by the government at the helicopter crash site near Pavuralagutta in Nallamala forest, where YSR died along with four officials, is still in the initial stages. Ecological issues
The project needs careful planning given the concerns expressed by environmentalists as the 1,400 hectare area proposed for the memorial was part of a protected wildlife sanctuary housing tigers and other wildlife, sources said. Though the Forest Department officials assured to take all steps to retain eco-balance, doubts still persist.
Meanwhile, sources said that an international consultant would be appointed to prepare the project in consonance with the Forest and Environment Protection Acts and nothing would be done to disturb the tranquillity of the forest interiors.
