Udupi: District-in-Charge minister Pramod Madhwaraj said that Upendra Pai’s contribution to the landmark growth of Manipal is immense.

Speaking after unveiling Upendra Pai’s memorial, here, near the DC Office junction on Sunday, the minister said that owing to the sacrifice, dedication and hard work of the great visionary, the barren land of Manipal has been transformed into a beautiful hub.

The CMC offered the land to construct the memorial, and the sculpture consists of a description that is found nowhere, he said.

The monument is the brainchild of contemporary artist Tallur L N, who is from Kundapur. The sculpture represents the life of the late Upendra Pai, along with the tradition, culture and technology of the region. There are seven rings in the shape of coins of historical and present days. The monument weighs 6.5 ton and is 27 feet tall.

The seven coins on the monument are the replica of the pre-independence era’s one paisa coin with images of the sun and the moon; a replica of an antique coin and the image of the tiger in RBI logo; a 3 paisa coin with images of fisheries and a bull with agricultural equipment; profiles of Chanakya and Mahatma Gandhi, including the year the latter visited Udupi; one side of a coin carries a five paisa coin and the Mangaluru tile, and the other side carries the royal emblem of Alupa Dynasty and Kannada script from the Vijayanagara dynasty, and lastly a present day one rupee coin.

A special postal cover in memory of the late Upendra Pai was also released by the minister on the occasion.