Atal Tunnel will soon be able to see the huge statue of the country’s highest Lord Buddha in the hill of Pir Panjal in the northern portal of Rohtang. After the tunnel built at a cost of Rs 3200 crores, now Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to give another big project of about 500 crores to the Lahaulis. A 328 feet (100 m) high statue of Lord Buddha will be built on the lines of Bamiyan of Afghanistan by doing the Kureed (carving) hill of Pirpanjal, a short distance from the tunnel’s North Portal. It will cost around 500 crore rupees. The Prime Minister himself has agreed to this project. The Central Government has given its in-principle approval to this proposal of the Himachal Government.

The construction of the statue will be entrusted to a private firm in Gujarat under the supervision of the Union Ministry of Tourism. Across the village of Sissu, a Buddha statue will be built by piercing the hill of Pirpanjal near the famous waterfall. According to Himachal Tourism Secretary Devesh Kumar, thousands of years ago, the carving technique used to build a statue of Buddha in Bamiyan, Afghanistan will be built in Lahaul on the same lines. Technical Education Minister Dr. Ramlal Markanda informed that a part of the mountain will be leveled first, then the rock carving technique will be engraved on the mountain. This will provide tourism to the tribal areas. According to Markanda, the process of rock testing in the mountain has been completed. During the public meeting in Sisu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be shown the proposed location of the statue. The Prime Minister will hold a public meeting on the left side of the mountain in which the statue is to be constructed.

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