Brick by brick, citizens to build a memorial for ‘People’s Prez’

Chennai

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s final resting place in Rameswaram is in a dilapidated state, which prompted an outcry among his followers. They have now embarked on a campaign to collect a brick per citizen, to build a memorial for him. Chennai-based social activist K Abdul Ghani says he was shocked to see the condition of Dr Kalam’s grave, during his recent visit to Rameswaram. “I saw animals defecating around it. There was a makeshift barricade around the grave. For visitors, there is no place to rest. People from around the world are expected to be here to pay their respects to Dr Kalam on his first death anniversary on July 27, 2016. We can’t have the memorial in such a state,” he laments, adding the Central government had promised to build a memorial to Dr Kalam.

Ghani is the initiator of the ‘1 citizen, 1 brick’ initiative to collect bricks to help speed the construction of the memorial. “Many got in touch with us to donate bricks. I got calls from students from TN and other states. We hope this campaign highlights our needs to the Centre and the construction of the memorial gets underway shortly,” says Ghani. A signature campaign has already been launched for the same. Natarajan Raman, Convenor of Action of 2020, says, “I don’t think we should wait. We can help create a memorial to this great leader by ourselves,” he says.