On November 1, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Statue of Unity of freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. At 182m, it is currently the tallest statue in the world. However, if the latest announcement by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is anything to go by, the Statue of Unity could soon be pipped to a distant second.
Adityanath on Monday said that a statue of Lord Ram would be installed at the latter's birthplace in Ayodhya on a 100-acre site. Upon completion, the 251-metre Lord Ram statue would become the world's tallest. The Statue of Liberty in New York is 93 metres, Dr BR Ambedkar's statue in Mumbai is 137.2 metres, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's tribute in Gujarat is 183 metres, Gautam Buddha's statue in China is 128 metres and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Mumbai will be 212 metres.
The Statue of Unity, built on the banks of river Narmada in Gujarat, was constructed with a sum of Rs 3,000 crore. Gujarat's Statue of Unity was readied in record 33 months against the picturesque backdrop of Vindhyachal and Satpura mountain ranges and the Narmada river.
Adityanath also elaborated on plans to develop Ayodhya into a pilgrim tourist destination. "Along with the statue of Lord Shri Ram, a plan should be prepared for overall development of Ayodhya. There should be arrangements for basic tourist facilities along with digital museum, interpretation centre, library, parking, food plaza, landscaping based on theme of Lord Shri Ram," Adityanath said.
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It was also decided that a trust under the chairmanship of the chief minister will be constituted for the same.
For setting up the world's tallest statue, an MoU will be signed with the Gujarat government for technical assistance. A separate unit of State Manufacturing Corporation will be set up for the purpose of this project, structure, bidding operation and construction work.
For site survey of the project, environment assessment and feasibility study, assistance will be sought from IIT Kanpur and Nagpur-based NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute), a constituent laboratory of CSIR.
(With PTI inputs)
