Maharashtra: 35-foot statue of Shivaji Maharaj unveiled by PM Modi last year collapses

The district has witnessed heavy rains and gusty winds in the last two to three days.

Mumbai: In an embarrassing incident for the ruling party, a large statue of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, in the Sindhudurg district collapsed amid strong winds and rains on Monday.

During the Navy Day celebrations on December 4, 2023, Modi inaugurated the 35-feet-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the Rajkot Fort in Malvan during which Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Admiral R Hari Kumar (Retd), the then Chief of Naval Staff and the top brass of the Indian Navy were present.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and two Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar too were present at the function when for the first time the Navy Day festivities were held outside New Delhi and Mumbai in a grand scale. 

The statue of Shivaji Maharaj with the sword held high in his right hand was erected on a pedestal in the ramparts of the historic sea-fort.

The exact cause of the collapse of the statue is not yet known. However, the Sindhudurg district, which is part of the coastal Konkan region, has been facing inclement weather over the past few days. 

As soon as the statue collapsed around noon, officials of Sindhudurg district administration and police rushed to the spot to review the situation. 

The Sindhudurg Fort was built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1660 and Rajkot Fort in Malvan bordering the Arabian Sea was built around 1664 and both remain a glorious testament to India’s maritime heritage.

CM Shinde said that the cause of the collapse of the statue would be probed and a team would collect the details from the site. 

Yuvraj Sambhaji Chhatrapati of Kolhapur, who is a descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, too expressed concern over the incident. 

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) lashed out at the government for the incident. 

NCP (SP) Working president and Baramati MP said: “When the Prime Minister of the country inaugurates a monument or structure, the people believe that the work will be of high quality. But the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj erected at Rajkot fort at Malvan in Sindhudurg collapsed within a year. This is an insult to Chhatrapati Shivaji. The task of erecting the statue was entrusted to the contractor of Thane district. It is now clear how he must have done his job. We demand that this person and his organisation should be blacklisted from all accounts.”

"The statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj erected at Sindhudurg collapsed today. Modi had inaugurated the structure in December last year. Who was the contractor? Was it correct that the work was given to a Thane based contractor? What action will be taken against the contractor? How much ‘khoke’ did the contractor pass on to the ‘khoke sarkar’?,” asked Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi. 

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole also attacked the government saying, “The BJP's corrupt administration has dishonored Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Maharashtra. Locals have alleged that the statue collapsed due to shoddy construction. The people of Maharashtra will never forgive these corrupt, treacherous people who have committed corruption even in the work of Maharaj's statue.”