Govt floats tender for new Shivaji statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg

In the wake of collapse of the Shivaji Maharaj statue in Sindhudurg, the Maharashtra government has issued a tender for the construction of a new 60-foot-tall statue there, nearly twice the size of the previous one, officials said on Wednesday.

The statue will be built at a cost of Rs 20 crore and the government has set a six-month timeframe for the completion of the work, they said.

A 35-foot-tall statue of the 17th century Maratha empire founder, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg district on December 4 (Navy Day) last year, collapsed on August 26 amid strong winds.

The statue's sculptor, Jaydeep Apte, was later arrested.

The government has faced flak as the opposition parties alleged the decision to install the statue in Sindhudurg was taken haphazardly, which resulted in poor quality of work.

Maharashtra Public Works Department (PWD) had flagged concerns over rust gathering on Shivaji Maharaj's statue and suggested permanent measures in a letter sent to a Naval official just six days before the structure collapsed.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy.

He claimed winds were blowing at 45 km per hour when the statue collapsed.

A tender has been issued for the construction of a new statue and its height would be 60 feet, a PWD official said.

"The total cost would now be Rs 20 crore, including its engineering, installation and maintenance. The government has given six months to complete the work. The height of the statue would be 60 feet," the official said.