Manjit Singh Gill, a 52-year-old sculptor from Ghall Kalan village in Moga, has prepared a clay model of a bust of anti-drug activist Parvinderjit Singh Jhota and begun work on a full-sized statue. The bust will be cast in fibreglass, while the larger statue will be made of ‘ashtadhatu’, an alloy of eight metals.Gill said he completed the clay model of the bust in two days, while work on the full statue began on Monday. He said he had undertaken the project voluntarily and might also gift one of the statues to Jhota’s father, Bhim Singh.“I like everyone who works for the welfare of Punjab,” Gill told The Tribune, adding that he did not calculate the expenses involved in such projects. “For me, it is like Guru da langar,” he said.A farmer by profession, Gill holds a master’s degree in sculpture from the Government College of Art, Chandigarh, which he completed in 2009. He joined the Archaeology and Museums Department in 2010 and said he resigned from his Class-I officer’s post in 2015 to pursue his interests.Gill said he had created thousands of statues of prominent personalities, with his work reaching different parts of the world. His subjects include freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and Lala Lajpat Rai, athlete Milkha Singh, and Neerja Bhanot. He has also sculpted former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and wrestler-actor Dara Singh. The latter’s statue stands at Dara Studio Chowk in Mohali.Beyond his commissioned and voluntary work, Gill has established a Patriot Park on his own land in his village. Highlighting the global outreach of his works, he said Punjabi communities across the world had taken statues made by him to their respective countries.Gill said he wanted to promote a culture of museums in the state and encourage greater public engagement with art and history. His younger brother, Surjit Singh Gill, assists him in making sculptures, having learnt the craft through practical experience. His niece, Sagarjot Kaur, a Class X student, has also been associated with his work for the past two-and-a-half years.