A giant statue, sited at an altitude of 8,500 feet on the Jakhu Hills here, will be unveiled by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and actor Abhishek Bachchan on Thursday.
The 108-foot-high statue of Hanuman at the famous Jakhu temple is built by JHS Svendgaard Laboratories, India's largest oral care products manufacturers, and the HC Nanda Trust. The reinforced concrete Hanuman idol has been built at a cost of Rs. 1.5 crore, informed sources said. The foliage around the idol has been either cut or pruned by the local administration to make the statue visible from all corners of the town. The Kesri idol will be illuminated at night with floodlights. Environmentalists and old-time residents of the town, however, are not happy with the development. They feel that the statue has spoiled Shimla's lush green skyline that is streaked with deodar and oak forests.