Bengaluru: Plan goes awry, giant statue stuck

Bengaluru: The unplanned shifting and poor planning for the transportation of a mammoth 62-foot and 750-tonne Hanuman statue led to the 300-wheel truck carrying it getting stuck under a railway bridge on Hennur Road, blocking traffic on the only road to the city.

The road under the railway bridge was dug up and railway height barrier removed to facilitate the movement of the vehicle. Bumper-to-bumper traffic was seen on the road since Saturday evening as the vehicle could not move at the critical traffic point. The vehicle was moving towards Kachakaranahalli in East Bengaluru where the statue will be installed. The project is commissioned by the Rama Chaithanya Vardhini Trust.

The vehicle, coming from Kolar via Hosakote, was stranded near the Railway Bridge on Hennur Road as the height of the bridge is low and the vehicle could not pass through it. The vehicle was stranded till 9pm on Saturday. The transporters had to dig up the road and break the median and newly installed lampposts to let the vehicle pass. BBMP officials said that the transporters have agreed to pay the damages caused during ferrying of the statue. According to the trust, the Hanuman statue is taller than the Gomateshwara statue (57ft) of Shravanabelagola in Hassan district and will be the tallest in the world. 

The dug up road under the bridge (Photo: DC)

The statue, which shows Hanuman carrying Lord Rama and Lakshmana on his shoulders, is being installed in the city at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore. 
The transportation cost itself comes to Rs 3.5 crore. The project is expected to be completed by April 2019. On April 3, the vehicle was stopped from entering the city as the police thought it violated the poll code of conduct. The Election Commission had to intervene to let the vehicle pass.