A bust of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj which the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated at Rajkot fort in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district one year back fell down on Monday.
The statue of the Maratha king, located at 35-feet-long had toppled around 1 pm at Rajkot in Malvan. Police and district administration are also on the spot and senior officers are assessing the extent of damage, as said by an official to the news agency PTI.
While the doctors will nail down what led to the fall the district has in the past two to three days encountered heavy rains and gusts of wind the official said.
Defence Sources privy to the details shared with CNN News18 said it was made by professionals proficient in the particular field while the project was jointly commissioned by the state government and the Indian Navy.
Thus as a final process the ownership of the statue was transferred to the local authority for its proper maintenance. The specific cause of the collapse can be identified only after the site assessment which is being conducted at present.
The grand statue was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on 4 th December 2023, on the occasion of Indian Navy Day.
FIR Filed
It is worth to note that in the collapse incident to two persons an FIR has been registered against. Malvan police booked Jaydeep Aapte the proprietor of M/s Artist company and Chetan Patil a structural consultant.
Indian Navy issues statement
The Indian Navy also had a statement that they have deployed a team which will begin to investigate the cause of the collapse at once.
The Indian Navy expressed deep concern over the damage inflicted on the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, unveiled on Navy Day on December 4, 2023, as a tribute to the people of Sindhudurg. In collaboration with the State Government and relevant experts, the Navy has assigned a team to swiftly investigate the cause of this regrettable incident and to begin the process of repairing, restoring, and reinstating the statue as soon as possible.
Opposition Criticizes State Government
Following the incident, leaders from opposition parties, including Jayant Patil of the NCP (SP) and Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT), among others, have criticized the state government, accusing it of neglecting the quality of the construction.
Thackeray alleged that the monument was hastily constructed due to the BJP’s arrogance.
“We will not accept the disrespect towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who is revered by all of Maharashtra! The memorial in Malvan, hastily built with the elections in mind and inaugurated by Modi, collapsed just eight months later. This haste led to the construction of a memorial that did not consider its importance. The focus was solely on using the Maharaja’s image, disregarding the quality. The voices of the locals were ignored. Today, witnessing the statue of our Maharaj crumbling, I felt immense sorrow. The ruling Mindhe government and the toxic BJP, which insulted the Maharaja, must now face consequences! Every statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji, who is the pride of Maharashtra, deserves proper care!” he expressed on X in Marathi.
Assaduddin Owaisi, the leader of AIMIM, also criticized the BJP, stating that the collapse of the statue is indicative of the substandard infrastructure developed by the Modi administration.
“The 35-feet Shivaji Statue inaugurated by @narendramodi has collapsed today. This is a testament to the poor quality of infrastructure developed by the Modi government. Shivaji was a symbol of equality and secularism, and the collapse of his statue is a reflection of @narendramodi’s disregard for Shivaji’s legacy,” he commented on X.
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