Mumbai, Aug 27: The Indian Navy has initiated an investigation into the collapse of a 35-foot statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, which was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Navy Day last year. The statue, located at Rajkot Fort, collapsed around 1 p.m. on Monday, prompting immediate concern and action.
In a late-night statement on Monday, the Navy expressed deep concern over the incident and announced that a team had been deputed to investigate the cause of the "unfortunate accident." The Navy also committed to repairing, restoring, and reinstating the statue at the earliest opportunity.
The collapse of the statue has caused embarrassment to the state government, with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde vowing to rebuild the structure. He clarified that the statue was erected by the Indian Navy, not the state government, and assured the public that efforts to restore the statue would begin immediately.
Chief Minister Shinde explained that the collapse occurred during a gusty wind with a speed of 45 kmph, as reported by the District Collector. He emphasized that Navy officials, along with Sindhudurg district Guardian Minister Ravindra Chavan, who is also the state public works minister, would inspect the site on Tuesday and initiate the reconstruction of the statue.
Meanwhile, opposition parties, including Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT), criticized the state government for the collapse. They accused the government of rushing the statue's inauguration for political gains, with NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil blaming the administration for neglecting the quality of the work and focusing solely on organizing an event for Prime Minister Modi to unveil the statue.
