The site of the Shivaji Maharaj memorial statue in Arabian Sea. ( Express photo by Prashant Nadkar/File) The site of the Shivaji Maharaj memorial statue in Arabian Sea. ( Express photo by Prashant Nadkar/File)

Following the Uttar Pradesh government’s announcement that it will build a 221-metre statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, the state government may increase the height of the proposed Shivaji memorial statue (212 m) to make it taller than the Ram statue.

Vinayak Mete, Chairman of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial Project Implementation, Monitoring and Co-ordination Committee, said on Wednesday that a decision in this regard will be taken after the UP government’s decision is verified.

Addressing a gathering of his party workers in Jalna, Mete said: “If it is true, then we will demand that the the height of the Shivaji statue be increased to 230 m to make it a grand memorial. We will ensure that the height of the statue is increased.” Mete is also the president of Shiv Sangram, a Maratha organisation. Despite repeated attempts, Mete could not be reached for a comment.

On November 24, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had finalised the details for the construction of a 221-m statue of Ram in Ayodhya. The structure will comprise a Ram statue of 151 m, an overhead umbrella of 20 m and a pedestal of 50 m.

The Shivaji memorial — 210 metre in height, including a 121.2-m statue standing atop an 88.8-m pedestal — is a flagship project of the BJP-led government in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid its foundation stone in December 2016.

On July 16, The Indian Express had reported that the state government in February had reduced the height of the equestrian statue of the warrior king by 7.5 m and increased the height of the sword by 7.5 m.

Originally, the statue was proposed to be 121.2-m tall, including the sculpture of the king on his horse together measuring 83.2 meters, and a 38-metre sword. As part of the cost reduction measures in February, the height of the sculpture of the warrior king on his steed was reduced to 75.7 metres while the length of the sword was raised to 45.5 metres, thus maintaining the statue height of 121.2 metres, atop 88.8-m pedestal.

In May, the government had announced that the height of the statue will be increased by two metres, making it 212 m overall.

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