Shimla: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statue will soon be installed at the Ridge in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Tuesday.

Inaugurating Atal Sadan constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 20 crore in Kullu on Vajpayee's 94 birth anniversary, Thakur said the Rohtang tunnel would also be named after the former Prime Minister as it was his brainchild.

A proposal has already been sent to the Centre in this regard, he added.

Thakur said Vajpayee's statue would also be set up at Atal Sadan.

The statues of Mahatma Gandhi and late prime minister Indira Gandhi have already installed at the Ridge in the heart of Shimla.

A 'kavi sammelan' was also organised on the occasion in which Jai Dev Vidrohi, Vivek Sharma, Satyapal Bhatnagar, and Pallavi Sharma recited poems.

Thakur said Vajpayee was loved by all as he used to do politics above party lines.

Forests and transport minister Govind Thakur said the former Prime Minister would also be remembered as an extraordinary orator and an excellent poet.

With PTI inputs