25.3.17

Shivaji's sea statue to get taller

The proposed equestrian statue of warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea may tower a few metres higher on the Mumbai skyline to make it the world's tallest.

Senior state government officials confirmed that they have gone back to the drawing board to ensure that the memorial, which is expected to cost Rs.3,700 crore to develop, rises to a height of 210 metres as against the proposed 192 metres. This may, however, push up the costs from the present estimate. The revised plan will ensure that the statue, whose foundation was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December, is two metres taller than the Spring Temple Buddha in China's Henan province. This is currently the world's tallest statue. Officials said the hill on which the statue of Vairocana Buddha is built was reshaped to increase its height to 208 metres.

The Shivaji Maharaj statue will come up on a 15.96 hectare rocky basalt outcrop in the Arabian Sea, 1.2 km south west of Raj Bhavan. 

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