New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament on Sunday morning. He also installed the historical Sengol next to the speaker’s chair in Lok Sabha.
The ceremony began with traditional prayers and Vedic rituals.
The historical gold-plated sceptre ‘Sengol’ was used as a symbol of power transfer in 1947. It is the same Sengol that was handed over to the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru at his residence on the night of 14th August, in the presence of several leaders.
In a similar function, Adheenams from Madurai handed over the Sengol to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The triangular-shaped four-story building is spread over an area of 64,500 square metres and is built at a cost of ₹862 crore. The building has three main gates, Gyan Dwar, Shakti Dwar, and Karma Dwar, this apart there are three more doors. There are separate entrances for VIPs, MPs, and visitors.
Designed by the architect Bimal Patel from Gujarat, the construction of the new parliament took over two years to be completed.
The materials inside the new parliament were procured from various states of the country. Lok Sabha has bamboo flooring from Tripura, 900 weavers hailing from Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi and Mirzapur districts weaved the carpets for the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
This apart to showcase the cultural diversity of the country, artworks made by various artisans from across the country has been installed inside the new parliament.