PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Indian High Commissioner to Guyana H.E. Venkatachalam Mahalingham on Wednesday unveiled the sign for the Indian Arrival Monument at Palmyra Village, East Berbice, Corentyne.
The construction of the $97M monument is dedicated to the arrival of Indians in Guyana, a project between the Governments of Guyana and India.
Speaking at a simple unveiling ceremony, Prime Minster Nagamootoo said the monument serves as a tribute to all the ancestors who came from India to the then British Guiana. “We look forward to the $97M edifice that would be erected as a lasting tribute to our ancestors,” said the Prime Minister, who noted that he was honoured to meet the sculptor of the six bronze statues when he visited India last year.
Meanwhile, Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Venkatachalam Mahalingham, said, his government is pleased to partner with Guyana on the project and expressed gratitude to the government for facilitating the project.
The Indian High Commissioner said that the government of India had spent US$150,000 to complete the six-foot statue depicting six bronze figures of three men, two women and a child. The statue illustrates Indians in their everyday life.

The bronze-sculpted edifice will sit on a one- acre plot of land at T Junction, Palmyra Village, on the eastern side of the Berbice River Bridge. It was designed by Philbert Gajadar and Winslow Craig after a
national competition was held in 2013.The sculpted figure has already been completed, has arrived in Guyana and is awaiting installation. The monument is expected to be completed by May 2017.

Several ministers of Government, including Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan;  Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton; Minister of Telecommunications,  Cathy Hughes; Mrs.Sita Nagamootoo, wife of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and many regional officials were present at the unveiling ceremony.