Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on September 18 will inaugurate the ambitious 108-foot-high ‘Statue of Oneness’ of Acharya Shankar in Omkareshwar, officials aware of the matter said.
Officials said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected to preside over the function but this was unlikely due to the special session of parliament from September 18 to 22.
The chief minister had in 2021 announced a museum and educational institution under Omkareshwar Project Ekatm Dham, highlighting the contribution of Advaita Vedanta philosophy.
The project design was finalised in January 2022.
The Madhya Pradesh cabinet approved ₹2,141 crore for the construction of the Statue of Oneness, a museum dedicated to Shankaracharya and an International Advaita Vedanta Sansthan at Omkareshwar.
The project is to be completed by 2026 and the BJP-led state government is getting the statue inaugurated before the state assembly election due this winter.
Acharya Shankar was born in Kaladi village of Kerala and at the age of 8, he set out in search of a Guru when he came to Omkareshwar.
An officer of the state tourism department, who didn’t wish to be named, said, “The statue work was to be completed by October this year, but was sped up on instructions of the government, the work . More than 100 experts from two multinational companies and more than 50 state government officials are working 24x7 to complete the work of installation of the statue by September 10.”
Once the statue is installed, the officials said the beautification work at the site will start. “The work of murals and paintings of Advaita philosophy, museum and institute will be completed by 2026,” another official aware of the development said.
{{/usCountry}}Once the statue is installed, the officials said the beautification work at the site will start. “The work of murals and paintings of Advaita philosophy, museum and institute will be completed by 2026,” another official aware of the development said.
{{/usCountry}}Project architect Kaushlendra Singh said in the first phase, the construction work of the statue will be completed by the company by September 10 which is at least three weeks before time.
“The statue is made up of bronze and the inner body is of high-quality stainless steel. The statue is being installed on 16 feet high lotus which would be on 75 feet high pedestal,” he said.
To ensure authenticity, he said, famous painter Vasudev Kamat from Mumbai made the painting of Acharya Shankar and then 11 renowned sculptors from India were selected to make statue designs. From those, they were selected to make bigger statues. Sculptor Bhagwan Rampure prepared final statue design,” the architect said.