Civic chief Krishna Chakraborty inaugurates the statue in EC Park. (Saradindu Chaudhury)

A statue of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa has been installed in EC Block.

The statue was inaugurated recently in EC Park by civic chief Krishna Chakraborty and local councillor Asesh Mukherjee.

Chakraborty said the need of the hour was to follow the footsteps of the saint. “Sri Ramakrishna’s words continue to give us the strength to face our difficulties,” she said.

Mukherjee noted that it has been a long-standing demand of residents in his ward to have a statue of Ramakrishna installed there. “We had a statue of Swami Vivekananda in our neighbourhood but not a single statue of his spiritual guru. So we spent around Rs 2.5 lakh from the wage generation fund of the ward towards this project,” said Mukherjee.

The 10-ft tall, full-length statue is made of fibre and has been crafted by sculptor Amal Pal. It stands in the corner of the park next to the block community hall.

But Ramakrishna stands alone and there is no trace of his wife Sarada Devi. “Residents had wanted statues of both Ramakrishna and Ma Sarada but we did not have the funds to make two statues. If it is possible we shall make her statue later,” said Mukherjee.

President of EC Block Residents Association Biman Roy expressed the block’s thankfulness at the initiative. “The statue even has a shed overhead. That way it will not be dirtied,” he said.

About half a dozen members of Sarada Sangha, an organisation which meets to discuss Sri Ramakrishna-Sarada Ma’s writings and ideology every Thursday, reside in EC Block. “Naturally we are elated that the civic body chose our park to erect the statue. Many of us are too old to walk to other blocks to see it. The statue will inspire us during our morning walks,” said Bela Sengupta, 83, the vice-president of Sarada Sangha.