Sculptors spent 26,000 hours to carve Netaji’s India Gate statue, says Centre

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Sep 08, 2022: One day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiling Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s statue at the India Gate, the culture ministry on Wednesday said a team of sculptors spent 26,000 man hours to carve the 28-foot structure. The statue was carved from a monolithic block of granite weighing 280 metric tonnes to produce a structure weighing 65 metric tonnes.

 

It further said a 100-ft-long truck with 140 wheels was specially designed for the giant granite stone to travel 1,665 km from Khammam in Telangana to New Delhi.

According to the ministry, the statue is completely "hand sculpted using traditional techniques and modern tools" by a team of sculptors led by Arun Yogiraj.

The work to install the statue at India Gate was underway on Wednesday on the eve of its unveiling. It will be housed in the India Gate canopy.

The statue will be installed at the same place where a ’hologram statue’ of Netaji was unveiled earlier this year on Parakram Diwas (January 23) by the prime minister to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Bose, according to a report by PTI.

On January 21, the prime minister said that a grand statue of Netaji made of granite will be installed at India Gate as a symbol of the nation’s "indebtedness" to him. According to the itinerary of Thursday’s event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to unveil the statue at 7 pm.

"The unveiling of the statue of Netaji would be accompanied to the tune of Kadam Kadam Badhayeja, the traditional INA song," the statement by the culture ministry said.

A special 10-minute drone show on Netaji’s life will be projected at India Gate at 8 pm on September 9, 10 and 11. Both the cultural festival and the drone show would be open to the public with free entry, the ministry said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil Netaji’s statue along with the revamped Central Vista Avenue on Thursday (September 8).

In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, head sculptor Arun Yogiraj said the project was challenging but it was a beautiful journey bringing it to life. Talking about the process of making the statue, Yogiraj said building on granite proved to be a challenging task.

He added that he is likely to meet PM Modi on Thursday and the prime minister will interact with the artists.

Courtesy: India Today