Modi budgets $33 million for statue

[Supply&Demand]

[quote="Supply&Demand, post: 5900974, member: 138677"]I am big supporter of Patel and a fan of Modi too...but i think the building such a big statue would be an overkill and wastage of money..I would have liked if they had named some program or even one of the new cities after him..and spent this money on something else..

in fact, if we have to spend this money on a statue why not spend it on the planned war memorial and make it even more grander...just my personal thoughts

It will be a tourist attraction and will generate revenue too.

And in addition we should have a mega structure, whats wrong in it?[/quote]

i am not against building a mega structure.. and i also agree with the revenue generation reasoning too.. but my point is..we are not a very rich country..so we have to use the money judiciously..as we are building a war memorial(which i support wholeheartedly)...i would have liked if that money would have been spent on making that war memorial more grand, more spectacular and a mega structure if needed..just my 2 cents..

 

[Koovie]

I also have mixed feelings about this. Sure he was a great man and obviously he needs to be remembered, but this is indeed an overkill.

The money could might be small compared to other more significant projects, but it could have been used better.... for instance by investing in public waste management to make at least one city cleaner.

And that is something that is gonna attract more tourists, and not by just building a giant statue.

 

[Contrarian]

I also have mixed feelings about this. Sure he was a great man and obviously he needs to be remembered, but this is indeed an overkill.

The money could might be small compared to other more significant projects, but it could have been used better.... for instance by investing in public waste management to make at least one city cleaner.

And that is something that is gonna attract more tourists, and not by just building a giant statue.

The money will be recovered in a few years. the project will pay for itself.

 

[Chanakya's_Chant]

 

[Koovie]

The money will be recovered in a few years. the project will pay for itself.

Debatable

 

[khujliwal]

Instead, better would have been to give more coverage to SVBP in the school syllabi. Specially in primary classes across all central and state boards.

 

[harpoon]

Out of the all Mughal Kings, who is more famous....Shahjahan....bcs he built Taj Mahal. Never forget the power of symbolism

 

[wolfschanzze]

Debatable

Just like ISRO space program was criticized with Toilets same here.What is it with Indians and their low self esteem when it comes to building Big projects that they tend to be pessimistic? If other Monuments around world generate Revenue.This will too.

 

[Koovie]

Just like ISRO space program was criticized with Toilets same here.What is it with Indians and their low self esteem when it comes to building Big projects that they tend to be pessimistic? If other Monuments around world generate Revenue.This will too.

You cannot compare this to the ISRO and their scientific projects and the satellite launching industry.

And dont come up with tourism, I could name you half a dozen better ways to spend the money to attract tourists.

 

[jha]

Its not a case of either/or.. Libraries ans statue can be built together.. The area in which this is being built needs a project like this.

 

[wolfschanzze]

You cannot compare this to the ISRO and their scientific projects and the satellite launching industry.

And dont come up with tourism, I could name you half a dozen better ways to spend the money to attract tourists.

The same has been said about ISRO when we launched Chandrayan or Mangalyaan.USA was beaming with pride when they landed man on moon after spending billions during economy slowdown.Why is it Indians that tend to criticize every big project even before it took off?Low Self Esteem is the cause of such mentality I guess being from a Communist state like Kerala does affect ones brain.The communists even criticized Computers saying they will lead to loss of jobs and Nukes and we know how that worked out.
if people pay to see Monuments around the world same here,why is it any different?Do you criticize Mt.Rushmore,Eiffel tower,Pisa,Christo Redentor,Spring Buddha,liberty statue?
People always have 1000 reasons of how money should be spent on other things even before the project was built.This not Socialist Nehru era nor do we have Comunists in power,big ticket projects will be built by NDA,People gave them mandate for such things it was in BJP Manifesto.

 

[Koovie]

The same has been said about ISRO when we launched Chandrayan or Mangalyaan.USA was beaming with pride when they landed man on moon after spending billions during economy slowdown.Why is it Indians that tend to criticize every big project even before it took off?Low Self Esteem is the cause of such mentality I guess being from a Communist state like Kerala does affect ones brain.The communists even criticized Computers saying they will lead to loss of jobs and Nukes and we know how that worked out.
if people pay to see Monuments around the world same here,why is it any different?Do you criticize Mt.Rushmore,Eiffel tower,Pisa,Christo Redentor,Spring Buddha,liberty statue?
People always have 1000 reasons of how money should be spent on other things even before the project was built.This not Socialist Nehru era nor do we have Comunists in power,big ticket projects will be built by NDA,People gave them mandate for such things it was in BJP Manifesto.

Why do you bring your communist BS theories in here? I am not communist, I despise socialist methods after all...

And what is the benefit of building a +30 millions USD statue? Dont compare it to a space program which obviously has its benefits and a purpose but a giant statue?

Couldnt that money be used for public sanitation? Waste management? etc etc etc?

Such measures which clean up our cities (At least one with that money) will attract more tourists than a statue surrounded by dirt, waste and people sh**ting on roads.

Why does it show my low self esteem if I demand such basic things?

 

[arp2041]

The money poured into the statue isn't getting LOST.......................

What if it becomes one of the BEST tourist place in India?

Will any living person on Earth ever say that Shah Jahan was an Idiot as Taj Mahal was a complete WASTE OF MONEY???

 

[SarthakGanguly]

Modi budgets million to help build world's tallest statue
BY FRANK JACK DANIEL, NEW DELHI Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:29pm IST

Narendra Modi waves towards supporters while flagging off vehicles with resource kits for collection of iron and soil to build ''Statue of Unity'', a 182-metre statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, in Ahmedabad December 28, 2013

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set aside million of government money to help fund the construction of the world's tallest statue, a project close to the newly elected leader's heart.

Modi launched the project to build the bronze-and-iron statue - which aims to be twice the height of the Statue of Liberty at 182 metres - half a year before he was elected prime minister in May to honour one of the country's founding fathers Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

The tribute was widely seen as a bid to break the grip over India's post-independence history of the Nehru-Gandhi ruling dynasty that Modi sought to unseat in the election.

Patel was the deputy of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as well as his home minister, but was often at odds with him.

The total cost of the project, estimated at some million, was originally to have been fully funded by the government of Gujarat, the home state of both Modi and Patel, and public donations.

The announcement that the central government would chip in, which was buried in a two-and-a-quarter-hour budget speech by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday, quickly sparked a debate about whether the expenditure was justified.

Some users of social media noted that the money allocated was the same as the amount allocated for women's safety, in a country plagued by violence against women, and twice that to promote education for girls.

Others said the statue, which is to be built on a river island in Gujarat, would be a major global tourist attraction, which justified the outlay.

"Sardar Patel stands as the symbol of the unity of the country," Jaitley said in the speech to parliament.

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) credits Patel with using strong-arm tactics against the hundreds of princes who ruled parts of India at the time of independence to forge a united republic.

Many in Gujarat feel his legacy has been neglected by the once mighty Congress party.

Nehru and his descendants ruled India for most of the period since independence from the British in 1947, and numerous development projects are named after Nehru, his daughter Indira and her son Rajiv Gandhi.

Modi seems bent on creating a nationalist symbol in Patel that strays away from the legacy of a dynasty that he blames for many of India's ills, including poverty and corruption.

Modi has previously said that every Indian "regrets Sardar Patel did not become the first prime minister. Had he been the first prime minister, the country's fate and face would have been completely different."

Modi budgets million to help build world's tallest statue| Reuters

Just a paltry 200 Crore thing then.
Now let's put the CWG scam in perspective...

This money can be recovered in 5 years from tourism alone.

 

[TimeToScoot]

Excellent initiative IMO. Statue Of Unity Official Website - Features of the Project