The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has decided not to procure four marble statues of horses from Chinese firm for its under construction temple in Kurukshetra in view of anti-China sentiments. The management is negotiating with Indonesia for the same.
The negotiation with a Chinese company was almost done before the ISKCON decided to shelve the plan. The ISKCON is the first religious organisation which cancels its order in view of the Chinese attempt to change the status of the LAC.
According to Gobind Gopal Das, who is looking after the construction of Kurukshetra’s ISKCON temple, the quality of Indonesian marble is better. “The decision was taken not to import marble horses from Chinese firms keeping in view of the ongoing anti-China sentiments in the country,” he said.
The statute of each horses will be 34 feet tall and 41 metres long and it will cost Rs 1 crore each. The ISKCON, which is constructing a massive Krishna temple in Kurukshetra at a cost of Rs 100 crore, has not completed nearly 60-65 per cent of the project.
The construction of the temple complex began in 2018 and it will be completed in 2022. It is being built on six acres and the temple itself will be spread over 23,000 square feet with three storeys and height of 165 feet. It will have the world’s biggest Bhagawad Gita, a multimedia centre in which the Mahabharata will be played for devotees, a library which will have all scriptures, Govinda’s restaurant (a chain of ISKCON), 75-room guest house, art gallery, spiritual gift shop, supermarket and cafe.