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Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Minister of Maharashtra. (Image credit: PTI/File)
“We are determined to build a bigger statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the same location,” Fadnavis said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharashtraji, who collapsed a day ago in Sindhudurg district The statue was built by the Navy but the state government has now decided to install a bigger statue of the Maratha warrior king at the same location.
On Navy Day last year (December 4), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the 17-year-old at the Rajkot Fort in Malvan tehsil, Sindhudurg. The 35-foot statue of the century-old founder of the Maratha empire collapsed on Monday afternoon.
Fadnavis told reporters here, “The construction of the statue was not overseen by the state government but by the Navy. The individuals responsible for the manufacture and installation of the statue may have overlooked important local factors such as high wind speed and the quality of the iron used. .The statue may be more susceptible to rust due to exposure to sea breeze. The senior BJP leader said the question now is whether the makers of the statue considered all these factors before making it.
“We are determined to build a bigger statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the same location,” he added.
He said an investigation into the statue's toppling was ongoing.
Asked about the Opposition targeting the state government over the incident, Fadnavis said: “The fall of the statue is painful but the Opposition's stance on it is disgusting. There is no need to politicize the issue as it will be Seen as superficial. After the statue collapsed on Monday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde claimed that wind speeds of 45 kilometers per hour caused the incident.
State Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Ravindra Chavan said on Monday that PWD officials found rust stains on the statue and wrote a letter to the Navy to inform them. The local police also filed a case against contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil at a police station in Sindhudurg district.
The opposition parties targeted the state government, saying the statue was hastily installed ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
