Two thousand years after the first of Anuradhapura's great dagobas was constructed, this huge new stupa is slowly rising on the south side of Anuradhapura, commissioned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2010. Designed to reach 85m in height, with a circumference of 244m, it is being constructed from over 30 million bricks and will be plastered and then whitewashed when finished.
Controversially, this is just one of nine new stupas planned, on orders of the president "in appreciation of the noble service rendered by the armed forces and police to defeat terrorism and bring lasting peace to the country." However, some have objected to the principle of dedicating a Buddhist monument to the actions of the Sri Lankan military.