'Tallest' Christ statue in the country unveiled

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 33.5 feet-tall statue of Jesus Christ, claimed to be the tallest Christ statue in the country, was unveiled in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.

The statue was unveiled and blessed by Major Archbishop of the Malakara Syrian Catholic Church Moran Mar Baselios Cleemis Catholicos at the campus of Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology here Saturday morning.

The pristine white-colour figure of Christ, with arms spread, has been placed on top of a 22.5 feet-high car porch of a building at the campus.

Noted art director Premachandran, sculptor of the statue, said it was built on the request of the parents of one Midhun Markose, a former student of the college who died in a road accident, as a memorial.

It is taller than a Christ statue unveiled recently in Bangalore which had been billed as the tallest such statue in the country so far, he claimed.

The statue, made out of a mixture of fibre, wax, resin and so on, had been given a marble finish, the sculptor said.

About 30 workers toiled hard in the last 35 days to complete the works within the scheduled time.