Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The union Home Minister Amit Shah was to address a public meeting in the city on September 16. Hence the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) by spending Rs 3 crore had deployed a contractor to erect a giant-size pandal on Riddhi Siddhi Lawns ground in Chikalthana MIDC area. The contractor started the erection work, but at the eleventh hour, the tour of Amit Shah got cancelled. Now, it is for sure the CSMC will have to pay the amount to the contractor as there was no condition laid in the tender that if the tour is
cancelled the payment will not be made to him, said the municipal commissioner G Sreekanth.
The giant pandal was waterproof and had a seating capacity of 50,000 persons.
While speaking to media persons, the municipal commissioner said, “It is unfortunate on the part of our city that the union home minister’s tour got cancelled. Some important issues could have been brought to his notice during his visit. There was no condition mentioned in the tender that the payment will not be made to the contractor if the tour gets cancelled. Hence we will now have to pay the money for erecting the huge pandal.”