120-foot statue of Raja Raja Chola in Thanjai

THE state government is set to install a 120-foot-tall bronze statue of Raja Raja Chola at the upcoming Grand Chola Museum in Thanjavur at a tentative cost of €100 crore. Chief Minister MK Stalin will lay the foundation stone for the museum on a 52 acre land at Tamil University Campus in Thanjavur on February 13.

- PRABHAKAR TAMILARASU @ Chennai

Sources at the PWD department said the first phase of the construction of the museum is estimated to cost 256.41 crore, and a detailed project report is being planned for the second phase. “The construction of the statue of the Chola king is likely to begin only in the third phase. As of now, the statue is planned to be made in bronze at an estimated cost of nearly 100 crore,” asource told this newspaper.

In the 2023-23 budget, the state government had announced a grand museum in Thanjavur to honour the contributions of Cholas. While the state’s Museum department is tasked with implementing the museum project, PWD has taken up the statue installation project on the premises.