Madhya Pradesh Coronavirus Lockdown: B R Ambedkar's birthplace in Mhow wears deserted look

The birthplace of Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar here in Madhya Pradesh wore a deserted look on his 129th birth anniversary on Tuesday, in view of the lockdown enforced to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Only a few local administration officials wearing masks went to the memorial in the morning and lit candles. Ambedkar's followers were not allowed to visit the site in order to avoid crowding.

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Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, was born on this day in 1891 in Kali Paltan area of the Mhow town, which is a major army base located in Indore district.

A grand memorial, after lot of obstructions, was constructed in his memory here in 2003-04.

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On his birth anniversary on Tuesday, only a handful of local administration officials went to the memorial site and lit candles.

"No one is allowed to visit the premises as social distancing guidelines need to be followed during the coronavirus crisis," one of the officials said.

A senior citizen from the area said had it been a normal time, top political leaders and public would have queued up in the town to pay their respects to Ambedkar on his birth anniversary.

Mhow was rechristened as Dr Ambedkar Nagar in 2003.