INDIA, April 24, 2015 (The Hindu): Glass fiber (“fiberglass” in the West) has become the new cost effective and light weight medium for sculptures of new temples being constructed. Earlier temples were constructed with stones on which sculptures and carvings were made. With time, temples became concrete structures where stone sculptures or statues of concrete were used for outer and inner decoration. Recently several temples under construction in Berhampur and other parts of Ganjam district have started to use glass fiber sculptures to decorate.
A Budhi Thakurani temple under construction at Lochapada road of the city now boasts of a large statue of Goddess Durga made of glass fibre. It has been constructed by Dhruva Kumar Layak and his team, who preferred glass fiber as it could be created at a small cost of US$472. “Had the same sculpture been constructed with concrete it would have cost around $4,700 and much higher if in stone,” said Mr Layak. According to Mr Layak, these glass fiber sculptures are easy to install and are more durable than concrete ones.