Indian Navy to head joint technical team to probe collapse of Shivaji Maharaj statue
The 35-foot statue collapsed on August 26 just eight months after it was unveiled. The incident has snowballed into a major political controversy with the opposition MVA targeting the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP government and seeking CM Shinde’s resignation.
By CNBCTV18.com August 29, 2024, 2:40:50 PM IST (Updated)2 Min Read
A joint technical committee headed by the Indian Navy with representatives from the Maharashtra government and technical experts is being formed to investigate the the collapse of Shivaji Maharaj statue at Malvan in coastal Konkan.
The Navy said it remains committed to assisting in all measures to repair, restore, and reinstate the statue at the earliest
The statue was unveiled on December 4, 2023, to honour the legacy of the Maratha Navy and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Navy conceptualised and steered the project in coordination with the state government.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has constituted a committee to build a “grand statute befitting the stature” of the warrior king.
An FIR has been registered against the contractor. The FIR follows a complaint by the Public Works Department, which claims the statue’s construction was of poor quality, and the nuts and bolts used in the structure were found to be rusted.
A structural engineer named in the case claimed that he was not the structural consultant for the project. Speaking to Marathi news channel ABP Majha, Chetan Patil said he had submitted the design of the platform to the Indian Navy through the PWD and had nothing to do with the statue itself.
He was named in the FIR along with artist Jaydeep Apte,
The 35-foot statue collapsed on August 26 just eight months after it was unveiled. The incident has snowballed into a major political controversy with the opposition MVA targeting the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP government and seeking Shinde’s resignation.
With inputs from PTI
First Published: Aug 29, 2024 2:38 PM IST
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