Seaplane service to world’s tallest statue in India will cost hundreds of crocodiles their home
- Statue of independence hero Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is located in a remote area
Indian foresters have begun relocating around 300 crocodiles to allow a seaplane service for visitors to the world’s tallest statue, the newly erected 182-metre Statue of Unity.
The reptiles, the largest around three metres, are being lured into metal cages and moved elsewhere in the western state of Gujarat on the back of pickup trucks.
So far about a dozen had been extracted “from dyke number three of the reservoir which has been identified as a probable site for the seaplane jetty”, a source said on Friday.
Local forestry official Anuradha Sahu said the instruction had come from the state government “for safety reasons as the tourist influx has increased” to the riverside edifice.
The statue of independence hero Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel – a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi – is more than twice the size of the Statue of Liberty. It was completed last October at a cost of US$400 million.