New Vipassana centre built to resist earthquakes

ASIA'S largest pagoda in Gorai can resist an earthquake measuring 8.6 on the Richter scale

New Vipassana centre built to resist earthquakes

The Global Vipassana Pagoda at Gorai pic/ Sayed Sameer Abedi

ASIA'S largest pagodau00a0in Gorai was inaugurated by President Pratibha Patilu00a0 today. The pagoda can resist an earthquake measuring 8.6 on the Richter scale, acording to its builders.u00a0

The builders also claim that like India's other famous heritage sites Kutub Minar, Taj Mahal and Mahabalipuram, the Global Vipassana Pagoda built by the Global Vipassana Foundation in Gorai, will stand close to a thousand years.

President inaugurates Vipassana Centre
The president reachedu00a0Goraiu00a0at 11:30 am Sundayu00a0by a special helicopter for the inauguration ceremony.

The pagoda was inaugurated at 11:45 am. Dignitariesu00a0including Priyanka Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Prafull Patel and other shared the dais with the president.

Asia's largest
It took 11 years for this Pagoda to reach its height of 325 Ft, which costed around Rs. 105 crores.

Arun Toshniwal, trustee, of the Global Vipassana Foundation, said, "Our pagoda can withstand an earthquake measuring 8.6 on the Richter scale and has a life span of more than 500 years."

Mahesh Varma, the pagoda's structural engineer, says, "The management of the pagoda wanted the structure to have a long life and that's why we decided to go for masonry stone structure. Compared to the lifespan of RCC and steel structures, masonry stone structure has a lifespan of more than a thousand years."

The project was initiated four years ago by the Global Vipassana Foundation a world body propagating the teachings of Buddha with the objective of setting up a meditation centre in the city with an ambience akin to that of Buddhist monasteries.u00a0

Prof RS Janjid, IIT, said, "We checked it using software and according to the Bureau of Indian Standards, it is an earthquake-resistant structure. The software simulates the earthquake and checks the response of the structure against it. The masonry gives it a long life."

No iron or cement has been used. Ashlar and basalt stones from Jaipur were ferried in, each weighing 1.5 to 2 tonne. Built with sandstone and limewater, the structure has been under construction for 11 years and is spread over 11 acres in Gorai. Under the 325-ft-tall structure's stone dome is a meditation centre with a seating capacity of 10,000.

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