New Delhi: Amid a boycott by several Opposition parties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the new Parliament building. During the inauguration ceremony‘Sengol’, a historical sceptre from Tamil Nadu which was received by first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to represent a transfer of power from the British and was kept in a museum in Allahabad, was also installed in the new building and placed near the chair of Lok Sabha Speaker in the House chamber.
New Parliament building reflects India’s diverse culture
With carpets from Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur, bamboo flooring from Tripura, and stone carvings from Rajasthan, the materials used for the new Parliament building have been acquired from various parts of the country and reflect India’s diverse culture.
The teakwood used in the building was sourced from Nagpur in Maharashtra, while the red and white sandstone was procured from Sarmathura in Rajasthan. The sandstone for the Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb in the national capital was also known to have been sourced from Sarmathura.
The Kesharia green stone has been procured from Udaipur, the red granite from Lakha near Ajmer and the white marble has been sourced from Ambaji in Rajasthan.
The steel structure for the false ceilings in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha chambers has been sourced from the union territory of Daman and Diu, while the furniture in the new building was crafted in Mumbai.
The stone ‘jaali’ (lattice) works dotting the building were sourced from Rajnagar in Rajasthan and Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
The materials for the Ashoka Emblem were sourced from Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Jaipur in Rajasthan, while the Ashok Chakra donning the massive walls of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha chambers and the exteriors of the parliament building were procured from Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
The new Parliament building used manufactured sand or M-sand from Charkhi Dadri in Haryana for creating concrete mix for the construction activities. M-Sand is considered environment friendly as it is manufactured by crushing large hard stones or granite and not by dredging of river beds.
The fly ash bricks used in the construction were sourced from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, while brass works and pre-cast trenches were from Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
New Parliament building can seat 888 members in Lok Sabha
The new Parliament building has a grand constitution hall to showcase India’s democratic heritage, a lounge for MPs, a library, multiple committee rooms, dining areas and ample parking space. The triangular-shaped four-storey building has a built-up area of 64,500 square metres and has three main gates — Gyan Dwar, Shakti Dwar, and Karma Dwar. It has separate entrances for VIPs, MPs, and visitors.
The new Parliament building can seat 888 members in the Lok Sabha chamber and 300 in the Rajya Sabha chamber. In the case of a joint sitting of both Houses, a total of 1,280 members can be accommodated in the Lok Sabha chamber.