A statue of Maratha Warrior King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, collapsed at Rajkot Fort in Malvan on Monday. The 35-foot statue was inaugurated during a Navy Day event on December 4 last year. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed regret over the incident and assured that a new statue would be erected at the same location.
“The incident is unfortunate. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is the deity of Maharashtra. The statue was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and we were also present at the event. This statue was erected by the Navy. The statue was erected and designed by the Navy. I spoke with the District Collector, who informed me that the statue collapsed due to wind speeds of 45 km per hour. Naval officers will be coming there tomorrow. We will work to erect a full-size statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj there again,” Shinde said.
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The incident has drawn criticism from opposition parties. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state president Jayant Patil accused the state government of neglecting quality control. He claimed, “The government focused more on the event rather than ensuring proper construction. The lack of attention led to this collapse.”
NCP MP Supriya Sule demanded accountability from the contractor responsible for the statue’s construction. Sule, on social media, called for the contractor to be blacklisted and for an investigation into the substandard work. She said, “This collapse is an insult to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The work was evidently done poorly, and both the Prime Minister and the public have been let down.”