A 37-foot statue of Hanuman (Anjaneyar), one of the tallest statues for the deity in the State, was installed on the banks of the Kollidam river at Melur in Srirangam on Sunday.
The statue has been installed on a two-acre premises owned by the Srirangam-based Sanjeevana Anjaneyar Swamy Trust. A large number of devotees from across the State witnessed the installation ceremony.
The statue was sculpted at Thirumurugan Poondi near Tirupur. A team of sculptors led by Muthu and Ilayaraja worked for more than two years to chisel the 120 tonne statue out of a single rock.
R. Vasudevan, Managing Trusty of the Sanjeevana Anjaneyar Swamy Trust, said that it had cost ₹ 40 lakh for designing it. A strong pedestal had been built in commensurate with the weight of the statue.
The statue was brought on a customised trailer having 46 wheels about a few weeks ago. Though there were no major hurdles in transporting it till Srirangam, it took a few days to reach Melur due to the narrow width of the road.