Hyderabad: Telangana govt, which has decided to install the world’s tallest Mahatma Gandhi statue at Bapu Ghat, has begun consultations with experts and designers on designs and height of the statue which will be erected on the banks of Musi river.
The govt is also planning to invite suggestions from political parties on the statue, its height and other issues. “The posture of the statue — whether sitting, walking, marching or any other design — will also be discussed. This will be decided by consulting experts, political parties, and intellectuals,” sources in the govt said.
Officials have started collecting information on Gandhi statues across the world and from Gandhi ashrams. “Gandhi statue in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan is the tallest in the country, which is 72 feet in height and was installed in 2013. Outside India, the tallest Gandhi statue is in Texas in the US, which is eight feet in height. In the statue, Gandhi is marching towards Dandi,” an official said.
The Gandhi statue in the state legislative assembly stands at 22 feet height and was erected during Chandrababu Naidu govt in 1999.
Chief minister A Revanth Reddy has directed the officials to turn Bapu Ghat into a major tourism attraction and also an education hub. The CM said a bridge-cum-barrage would be constructed at the ghat. In the first phase, the CM announced that 21 km from Bapu Ghat to upstream Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar would be developed as part of the Musi rejuvenation project. The govt decided to come up with a Gandhi ideology centre at Bapu Ghat.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue (Statue of Unity) in Gujarat is now world’s tallest statue, towering at a height of 182 feet.
