A photo (spanning four columns and
over four inches tall) ran in the NYT on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2003..

The caption reads: "A Fallen Giant - Indian laborers used drills yesterday to break up a 108-foot statue of the Hindu god Lord Krishna that fell Monday as it neared completion outside New Delhi. A poor foundation was blamed for the collapse,
in which three workers died. The statue had been under construction for six years." (No story ran with this).

Here is the AP story:

Jan. 10, 2003

Giant Statue of Hindu God Falls in India
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW DELHI, India (AP) -- A giant statue of the Hindu god Krishna that took six years to build toppled onto its back this week, killing three people, Indian villagers who had raised the money for the construction said Friday.

``This was a bad omen,'' said Shivram Sharma, the priest at a small temple near where the 108-foot statue collapsed Monday in the village of Narsinghpur, on the outskirts of the Indian capital.

Two laborers doing the final polishing of the cement statue were crushed along with one passer-by, said Harlal, a member of the temple committee who uses one name.

Other villagers also said three died, although local police officer Ram Kisan confirmed one death. A dozen people were injured, but all were out of the hospital by Friday.

The village and people from the surrounding district had raised $417,000 to build the statue. It now lies on its back, with a tangle of iron and cement tumbling out of its feet.

Sharma said he was praying in the temple Monday morning when he ``suddenly heard a big sound.'' He felt a tremor, and came out to see the statue. ``It toppled in no time,'' he said.