Come Maha Shivaratri, devotees will witness a huge statue of Lord Mahadev at the Akhandalamani shrine in Aradi of Bhadrak district. Work on the 35-foot-tall statue is underway in Cuttack. Noted sculptor Laxmidhar Rana and 14 others are presently busy giving shape to the statue.
It will be a fibre statue and after completion, Lord Shiva will be seen in a meditating posture.
“We are a team of 15 artisans. For the first time, we are manufacturing such a tall statue. We are working every day, till 11 pm. We are excited,” said Rana.
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“The Akhandalamani shrine is being developed. Our statue will be installed there. We started working on it at the time of Dussehra 2023. We hope we will complete the installation process by February 2024,” he added.
When asked about the process of transporting such a tall statue, a visibly delighted Rana said, “Once the statue gets its final shape, we will divide it into some pieces to make it convenient for transportation. Then at the Akhandalamani shrine, we will reassemble the statue.”
Sources said the statue can withstand bad weather conditions for at least 50 years. It will have four layers of fibre akin to carbon fibre, which is used in manufacturing vehicle parts.