An organization has demanded land for installing an 80-feet high statue of Lord Buddha in Gujarat.
After the 182-meter tall 'Statue of Unity', dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Gujarat may get a gigantic Buddha statue. Sanghakaya Foundation, a non-profit Buddhist organisation, said Thursday that it has demanded land from the government for installing an 80-feet high statue of Lord Buddha in Gandhinagar.
The organization has reportedly roped in Ram Sutar, the sculptor behind the Statue of Unity, for the project
"We are expecting to get the land soon," president of the foundation Bhante Prashil Ratna told reporters in Ahmedabad.
Mr Ratna also said that the foundation is planning to set up a Buddhist University in Gujarat. "Contrary to the belief that ancient Buddhist sites exist only in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and further to the north, Gujarat too has been blessed with such sites," he said.
"Like Nalanda and Takshashila, records of Chinese travelers mention that there was a big Buddhist university called Vallabhi at Bhavnagar in Gujarat," he said.
The foundation also plans to build a grand monument at Dev Ni Mori, a Buddhist archaeological site in Sabarkanth district of north Gujarat, he said.