KCR unveils Kalam's statue at DRDO Complex

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today unveiled the bronze statue of late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam at DRDO Complex here on the occasion of his 84th birth anniversary. "It is a matter of pride to unveil the statue of Kalam who was a great humanist. He used to stay in a small room in DRDO as scientist and conducted many missile tests at ISRO," the CM said on the occasion. The prestigious Missile Complex, which houses research units of DRDO, was renamed after Kalam in presence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. The CM said it was due to contribution made by Kalam that Hyderabad has the capacity to completely manufacture an aircraft and every rocket sent into the space carries spares made from the city for which Hyderabad is proud. Rao recalled how Kalam demonstrated India's defence capabilities before world and was rightly conferred 'Bharat Ratna' even as he rose to become President of the country. "Even after becoming President Dr Abdul Kalam lived a very simple life and after retirement he lived as a 'teacher and preacher' encouraging children. If I were to write a book, I would never miss Kalam's contribution for Telangana as he was the first president to announce that the UPA government will carve out Telangana state," he said. Rao said Kalam's services as a scientist made India popular across continents and the Pokhran test was the reflection of his calibre and capabilities in the chosen domain. He said Kalam served the poor with heart ailments by coming up with affordable stents and joined hands with some hospitals in Hyderabad to use technological innovations for the purpose. The CM said the "missile man" had a two-decade-long association with Hyderabad. "Kalam was a great scientist who rose to become President of India and led a very simple life. Kalam is an ideal to many and ignited minds of the youth and inspired many leaders," the CM said. Meanwhile, Parrikar could not attend the unveiling of the life size statue as he was attending another function in the city.