The Bhidewada National Memorial in Pune is expected to be completed by the end of March, with the civic administration planning its inauguration on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, officials told Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal during an inspection of the project.
The memorial is being developed at Bhidewada on Shivaji Road in Pune’s Budhwar Peth, where Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule started the country’s first school for girls in 1848. The site has long been associated with the history of women’s education and the social reform movement led by the Phule couple.
The Pune Municipal Corporation’s general body approved a resolution in 2008 to take control of the wada and develop a national memorial there. The proposal subsequently faced a legal challenge from tenants at the site. According to the information presented to Bhujbal, the civic administration eventually won the 13-year legal battle and began work on the memorial.
Bhujbal visited the construction site on Saturday to review the progress of the project. Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram, city engineer Aniruddha Pawaskar, superintendent engineer Bipin Shinde, deputy commissioner Avinash Sankpal and representatives of various social organisations were present during the inspection.
Municipal officials made a presentation to the minister on the memorial’s design and construction progress. Bhujbal instructed the civic administration to complete the work quickly while ensuring that the structure is of good quality, durable and built to appropriate standards. The officials informed him that the work was scheduled for completion by the end of March.
The project is intended to preserve the memory and work of Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule at the location where their pioneering school operated. Its development has involved not only construction but also the resolution of long-running ownership and tenancy-related legal issues, making the memorial a significant municipal heritage project in the historic core of Pune.
After visiting Bhidewada, Bhujbal went to Phulewada in Ganj Peth, the residence associated with the Phule couple. He paid tribute to their statues and reviewed the proposed expansion of the Phulewada and Savitribai Phule memorial projects.
Municipal deputy commissioner and memorial nodal officer Avinash Sankpal briefed the minister on the land acquisition process connected with the expansion. The civic administration’s next stated milestone is the completion of the Bhidewada National Memorial by the end of March, followed by its planned inauguration on Mahatma Phule’s birth anniversary.
