India might have 99 problems but securing funds to build the world's largest statues is not one of them. Over the weekend, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew down to Mumbai to lay the foundation stone for a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The memorial of the 16th century ruler of the Maratha empire is estimated to cost Rs 36 billion ($530 million). The statue, which is to be built in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast, will be 192-metres tall — the tallest memorial in the world, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last week. In comparison, Statue of Liberty is 93 metres tall. The current tallest statue in the world, the Laykyun Setkyar of Buddha, is in Myanmar. It's 115.8 metres tall. The other two tallest statues are also dedicated to Buddha. The Spring Temple Buddha in China is 108.45 metres tall, whereas the Ushiku Daibutsu in Japan is 100 metres tall. India is also working on Statue of Unity in remembrance of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the country's first Deputy Prime Minister. The monument is under construction in Narmada Dam, Gujarat. It will be 182 metres in height. The government is spending Rs 29.7 billion ($438 million) on the four-year project, which is expected to complete by the end of 2018. The project to build the statue comes ahead of the high-stake elections in Maharashtra in February 2017. Several people have expressed their disapproval of the statue, suggesting the government should instead spend the money on something worthwhile and substantial for the poor. More than 30,000 people have signed a petition in hope of stopping the government from "wasting" the money. "This is tax-payers' money and I am sure we would all like this money to be spend on something better - education, infrastructure, food...anything but a statue that is of no use to anyone," the petition reads. "This is not what Shivaji would have wanted and I am sure we can find other ways to honour him. Apart from a waste of money, this statue is going to be terrible for the environment; for the traffic situation in South Bombay and a security nightmare," it adds. Tweet may have been deleted
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