Statue of Equality was made in China, reports say

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the ‘Statue of Equality’, a 216-foot statue of Ramanujacharya in Hyderabad, highlighting the 11th-century saint's message of equality of all. Reports state that the statue was made in China and cost around Rs 135 crore.

Even though one Indian company was in the running to win the contract for the statue, it was China’s Aerosun Corporation that eventually bagged the contract in August 2015, according to the Deccan Herald.

The casting works for the statue were carried out in China. The statue was brought to India in 1,600 pieces and the installation took around 15 months.

The inauguration is part of the 12-day Sri Ramanuja Sahasrabdi Samaroham, the ongoing 1,000th birth anniversary celebrations of the saint. The saint was someone “who promoted the idea of equality in all aspects of living including faith, caste and creed”, a press release by the government said. The 216-foot tall statue is among the tallest metallic sitting statues in the world.

The statue conceptualised by Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami of Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram consists of five metals namely gold, silver, zinc, brass and copper.