Mumbai: In the wake of the Shivaji Maharaj's statue collapse incident, a letter from the PWD warning about rusting nuts and bolts of the statue has surfaced on Tuesday. The letter was written by the PWD to the Area Security Coastal Office on August 20 informing that the nuts and bolts installed in the statue were completely damaged and the locals were upset about this.
In the letter, the PWD mentioned that the nuts and bolts had been damaged due to the saltwater of the sea, hence appropriate action should be taken by informing the concerned contractors about this. It is noteworthy that the letter was written on August 20 and the statue collapsed on August 26.
However, the PWD's warnings were already ignored earlier when they had highlighted that the nuts and bolts on the statue were rusting.
Read full letter here
Indian Navy takes note of damage
In the meantime, the Indian Navy took note of the damage caused to the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and has deputed a team to immediately investigate the cause of this unfortunate accident and initiate steps to repair, restore, and reinstate the statue at the earliest.
As per Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the statue collapsed at around 1 pm and strong winds might be the cause behind the collapse. However, he assured that the statue would be reinstalled. The chief minister said the Public Works Department (PWD) personnel will visit the site on Tuesday.
What guardian minister said
Sindhudurg guardian minister Ravindra Chavan, meanwhile, said that the steel used in making of the statue had started rusting. He said the PWD had already written to Navy officials informing them about the statue catching rust and requested them to take appropriate steps.
The Indian Navy termed the statue collapse as unfortunate and said it has deputed a team to join the investigation to find out what caused the cave in.
In a late night statement, the Navy said it will initiate steps to restore and reinstate the statue at the earliest.
"The Indian Navy notes with deep concern the damage caused this morning to the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that was unveiled on Navy Day on December 4, 2023, as a dedication to the citizens of Sindhudurg.
"Along with the State Government and concerned specialists, the Navy has deputed a team to immediately investigate the cause of this unfortunate accident and initiate steps to repair, restore and reinstate the statue at the earliest," said the statement.
The 35-foot statue of Shivaji Maharaj collapsed at around 1 pm at Rajkot Fort under Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg district in the Konkan region, around 480km from Mumbai, the official said.
Opposition lashes out at state govt
The opposition Nationalist Congress Party (SP) lashed out at the Mahayuti government over the incident.
NCP (SP) state president and former minister Jayant Patil said, "The government is responsible for the collapse as it did not take proper care of the statue. The government paid little attention to the quality of work. It only focused on conducting an event where PM Modi was invited to unveil the statue. This Maharashtra government only issues new tenders, accepts commissions and gives contracts accordingly."
His party colleague and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule sought a probe into the entire episode. In a post on X, she said, "The statue's collapse within a year reflects poorly on the quality of the work and calls for a thorough investigation into the substandard construction. The statue construction work was given to a Thane-based contractor. It is now clear how he must have done his job. We demand the contractor and his firms be blacklisted."
