In India, the tallest statue in the world has begun to be constructed

Delhi - In India, the construction of the future tallest statue in the world has begun, which is to represent a significant Hindu leader from the 17th century. It is expected to cost several hundred million dollars and has sparked criticism and an online petition against the construction. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji on Saturday, which is to rise on an artificial island at sea near Mumbai.

It is to measure 192 meters, which is twice as high as the Statue of Liberty in New York (93 meters), five times higher than the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, and it will also surpass the current tallest statue in the world, the Chinese Buddha statue from Henan province, which measures 128 meters.

"His personality is an inspiration to us in many ways," Modi said at the project's inauguration about the founder of the Maratha state, Shivaji, who fought against the Muslim Mughal Empire and founded his own kingdom. Shivaji (1630-1680), who held the royal title of Chhatrapati, was later glorified by historians as a Maratha national hero and an inspirer of Hindu resistance against Muslim oppression.

The name of Shivaji is already carried by the main airport and railway station in Mumbai.

The government of the state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the administrative center, plans to allocate 530 million dollars (13.7 billion crowns) for the construction of the statue. It is expected to be completed by 2019. However, the level of investment has raised a wave of criticism, arguing that the money should be spent more on infrastructure, education, and development.

An online petition on Change.org has already been signed by over 32,000 people who want the project to be halted.

Modi's government had already once decided on a similar project. In 2014, the construction of a 182-meter high statue of Sardar Patel, one of India's founding fathers, was approved. The sculpture made of iron and bronze is to be located in the state of Gujarat, from which both Patel and Modi hail, and its cost is estimated to be 368 million dollars (9.5 billion crowns).