Lord Krishna’s statue to come up at Jyotisar

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, July 1

The tourists, who visit Jyotisar Tirtha, the birthplace of the Gita, in Kurukshetra, will be able to witness a 42-ft-tall bronze statue of Lord Krishna, which will be erected there at a cost of Rs 10 crore in December.

Recently, the model of the ‘Virat Swaroop’ (universal form) was revealed and now, the Kurukshetra Development Board has planned to get the work completed by November-end so that it could be inaugurated in December.

The idea of erecting Lord Krishna’s ‘Virat Swaroop’ was first conceived during the Congress regime, but it was in 2017 when its foundation stone was laid by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar during the Gita Mahotsav.

Madan Mohan Chhabra, honorary secretary, Kurukshetra Development Board, said, “The ‘Virat Swaroop’ of Lord Krishna will be erected at Jyotisar. The statue will cost around Rs 9.5 crore. After the landscaping work and other work, the total cost of the project will be around Rs 10 crore.

“The height of the statue is 42 ft and the height of the foundation will be 10 ft. The project was announced under the CM’s announcement. The statue is being sculpted by Ram Vanji Sutar’s unit in Noida who designed the Statue of Unity. We have asked them to get the statue ready by November-end so that it could be inaugurated during the Gita Mahotsav in December.”

“Lakhs of devotees reach Kurukshetra every year and efforts are being made to give something new to them every time. Constant efforts are being made to develop Kurukshetra as an international tourist destination as well. Last year, a new light and sound show was introduced at Jyotisar,” he added.

To a query, Chhabra said, “The Jyotisar is being developed at a cost around Rs 100 crore for which budgets are being provided through the Krishna circuit under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of the Centre and by the state government.”

In 2016, the Centre had allocated Rs 97.34 crore to Kurukshetra to develop Krishna circuit under the Swadesh Darshan scheme. The budget was spent on development work at Jyotisar, Sannihit Sarovar, Brahma Sarovar, Narkatari, and in Thanesar city. The KDB had sought a budget of Rs 97.06 crore under the second phase of Swadesh Darshan scheme from the Centre for the development of religious sites in the state.