BENGALURU: This was one hurdle Hanuman found insurmountable, though only for 15 hours. An extra-long vehicle carrying the 62-foot, 750-tonne half-done statue of Hanuman from
Kolar to Kacharakanahalli in East Bengaluru, was stranded when police allegedly stopped it on NH-48 on Monday night, citing it as a potential violation of the model election code of conduct.
The 300-wheel vehicle carrying the monolith was forced to wait near Hoskote, 35km from the city, till the Election Commission intervened and gave it the goahead around Tuesday noon, according to trustee Muniraju of the Sri Rama Chaithanya Vardhini Trust, which is behind the project.
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Vehicle carrying Hanuman statue halted for 15 hours
The standoff resulted in a traffic jam lasting hours on NH-48 (Old Madras Road).
Official sources told TOI that members of the trust had applied for permission to transport the statue, and BBMP had agreed but with a rider: that they wouldn’t damage the road and if they did, take responsibility to restore it.
“On Monday evening, police might have stopped the vehicle to check whether the trust had got necessary permissions to transport the statue into the city. The vehicle was allowed to resume its journey on Tuesday,” they added.
Bengaluru Traffic Police officers, however, said they were not in the loop as the incident happened beyond their jurisdiction.
'Biggest Hanuman statue in the world'
Trust members claimed the statue, which stands taller than the Gomateshwara statue (57ft) of Shravanabelagola in Hassan district, will be the biggest Hanuman statue in the world.
Muniraju said the statue is rough-hewn and the final sculpting will be done at the place where it will be installed. Work on Hanuman, carrying Lord Rama and Lakshmana on his shoulders, is expected to be completed by next year.
The monolith, out of which the statue was carved, was found in Byrapura. Weighing about 1450 tonnes, it had to be lifted 4 feet from under the ground to facilitate sculpting. "We searched for such a large stone for three months. About 30 sculptors from Shivarapatna, a village in Malur taluk of Kolar district, renowned for its traditional sculpture, were pressed into service to downsize the monolith to a 750-tonne statue.
At Kacharakanahalli, the sculptors will be joined by other world-class sculptors to complete the task. The statue is expected to be fully ready before next April, and be installed by Sri Rama Navami," said Muniraju.
