91ft-tall Shivaji statue unveiled at Rajkot fort sans pomp & pageantry
Mumbai: Nearly nine months after the
at
in Sindhudurg district collapsed, a new 91ft-tall statue was unveiled by
and his deputy Ekanth Shinde at the same site on Sunday, without much pomp and pageantry.On Dec 4, 2023, PM Narendra Modi had unveiled a 35ft-tall Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at the fort during Navy Day celebrations, but it collapsed on Aug 25, 2024, leading to a widespread outrage.This time round, there was no ribbon cutting or a new plaque, instead Fadnavis said he performed a Shiv aarti.
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Shinde said: "Today, the PM could not be here, but he is standing firm with the armed forces doing a form of Shiv Karya." Local MP Narayan Rane, fisheries minister Nitesh Rane, PWD minister Shivendra Bhosale, and BJP state executive president Ravindra Chavan were present for the event.Later, speaking to the media, Fadanvis said the new statue, built at a cost of Rs 20 crore, is far sturdier than the previous one. Experts studied the intensity of winds during cyclones Tauktae and Phyaan and the 91ft tall statue, which includes a 10ft pedestal and a 23ft sword, has been designed to withstand even more extreme winds, he added. "The statue was constructed in record time by the state public works department. It is designed to last at least 100 years in any environment," said Fadnavis, adding: "Sculptor
designed and executed the work, and was assisted by engineers from IIT-Bombay and the head of Sir J J School of Arts. Ram Sutar Art Creations will maintain the statue for 10 years."The CM further said that the surrounding fort area will be acquired and developed to give visitors an experience of Chhatrapti Shivaji Maharaj's Swarajya. Fadnavis added that this is probably the tallest Shivaji statue, according to information provided by PWD minister Bhosale.Padma Bhushan Ram Sutar, who is 100 years old, has designed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's Statue of Unity, which is the world's tallest statue with a height of 182m, and the 251m-tall statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
He is currently working on the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar statue to be installed at Dadar's Indu Mills. Sutar was recently honoured with Maharashtra Bhushan.
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