Kullu: In the northern part of Atal Tunnel Rohtang, on the hill of Pir Panjal, soon the tourists will be able to see the huge statue of the country's highest statue of Lord Buddha. After the tunnel which was built at a cost of Rs. 3,200 crore, it is learned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce the Rs. 500-crore-project of Lord Buddha's statue.
A 328 ft (100 m) tall statue of Lord Buddha will be built on the lines of Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan. About 500 crore rupees will be spent for the construction of the statue. The central government has given its in-principle approval to the proposal by the Himachal Pradesh state government.
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The construction of the statue will be entrusted to a private firm in Gujarat under the supervision of the Union Ministry of Tourism. The Buddha statue will be built by carving out the hill of Pirpanjal. According to Himachal Pradesh's tourism secretary Devesh Kumar, the statue will share the features of Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan.
Technical Education Minister Dr. Ramlal Markanda said that a part of the mountain will be levelled first, then rock carving technique employed to build the statue. The statue will give a renewed stimulus to tourism in the tribal areas of the region.
According to Markanda, the process of rock testing in the mountain has been completed. After the inauguration of Atal Tunnel Rohtang, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be taken to the proposed location for the statue.
