Washington: An 8.8 feet high bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi would be unveiled in US during this year's Gandhi Jayanti celebrations.

The statue would be uncovered on October 5 in Milwaukee by US health secretary Tommy Thompson with Indian Ambassador Lalit Mansingh as guest of honour.

Sculpted by Gautam Pal of Kolkata, it is identical to the one that was unveiled by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and former US President Bill Clinton in Washington in September 2000, and reminds the famous Salt Satyagraha in 1930.

The statue in Milwaukee is a gift from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi, headed by the Vice President of India.

Funds for acquiring land and other expenditures were raised by the Wisconsin Coalition of Asian Indian Organisations (WCAIO) under the leadership of Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, president of Bulk Petroleum, and Prem Sharma, president, WCAIO, who have been the moving force behind the project.

PTI