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Work has begun on the construction of a 140-metre-high statue of Vishnu on
the vacation island of Bali, Jakarta Port reports.
Nyoman Nuarta, creator of the proposed "Garuda Wishnu Kencana" monument,
said it would rival New York's Statue of Liberty and Italy's Leaning Tower
of Pisa as a tourist attraction.
The mainly privately-funded statue will depict Vishnu guarding the world as
He rides a garuda, which is also Indonesia's national symbol.
"It will be a blend of art, technology and business," the paper quoted
Nuarta as saying. The statue will be built atop a hill about 12 km from
Bali's main town.
It would be prefabricated at Bandung, on the main island of Java, and
shipped in pieces to Bali, about 900 km to the east. Nuarta said Vishnu's
head almost been completed.
The newspaper said construction had gone ahead despite protests from
Balinese people when the project was suggested in the early 1990s.
Local intellectuals and business people voiced concern over the impact it
would have on local culture and small-scale crafts people. Other critics
said it would be a waste of money. The cost of the project has not been
released.
Bali is Indonesia's main international vacation island. Most of its people
follow the Hindu faith, in contrast to the rest of the country, which is
overwhelmingly Muslims. - AP
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