UP cover-up @Rs 1cr: Elephants go pink; Maya draped in cloth

Lucknow, Jan 10: With the draping operation currently on at Mayawati's Uttar Pradesh as per the orders of the Election Commission, looks like the effort is going to burn a hole in the pocket of the aam aadmi further. It has been reported that the 'cover-up' operation is going to cost the exchequer Rs 1 crore.

The Noida Authority and Gautam Budh Nagar administration is believed to have ordered close to 1.5 km of plastic sheet to drape the 30 stone and 22 bronze elephants at Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal alone.

Media reports suggest that a pink plastic cloth will be used to cover up the elephant statues, while the Maya statues will be covered in cloth. There are as many as 11 Mayawati statues in Lucknow and 77 elephant staues. The Election Commission has ordered the covering up of the statues to be completed by Wednesday.

Officials are racing against time to finish the mammoth task. They were earlier at logger heads to decide on whose job it was to cover up the statues. While there were differences on whether it was the job of the Lucknow Development Authority or the UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam to carry out the same; while in Noida, the authority and the Nigam was clashing on what colour of cloth needs to be used for draping the statues.

With Noida facing a shortage of pink plastic by Monday evening following the ultimatum given out by the Election Commission, officials stated that the statues have been measured and the khaki cloth ordered.

OneIndia News