Rusting of frame, lack of maintenance, faulty design caused Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse: Inquiry committee report
Mumbai: The inquiry committee appointed to probe the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue at the Rajkot Fort in Malvan, district Sindhudurg has submitted its 16-page report. It states that the design of the statue was faulty.
Many shortcomings, reasons for its collapse
The five-member inquiry committee headed by Commodore Pawan Dhingra was appointed to probe and submit the report. Commodore Pawan Dhingra has over 20 years of experience in the Indian Navy. The other members included Secretary, PWD (buildings), Sanjay Dashpute; former Chief Engineer, PWD, & Structural Engineer Vikas Ramgude; IIT Mumbai, Civil Engineering Department, Prof RS Jangid; and IIT Mumbai, Metallurgical Sciences Department, Prof S Parida. The report has stated that there were shortcomings at many places. The main reason behind the collapse of the 35-ft tall statue was a rusted and weak frame.
How did the statue collapse?
Another reason revealed in the inquiry is a lack of maintenance of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue. This led to rusting of its frame at many places. It was also faultily welded. The design of the statue was not proper.
The report has been submitted to the Secretary, PWD. The report mentions several reasons for the incident.
Meanwhile, the government will build a 60-ft tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the Rajkot Fort in Malvan. The PWD started the Rs 20-crore tender process within a month after the collapse. It proposed a six months duration to complete the project. A over 500-page booklet of criteria to build the statue has been published by the State Government to ensure a flawless statue.
The life of the statue will be 100 years. The contractor carrying out the project will have to look after its maintenance for 10 years. Interested sculptors will have to present a 3-ft tall fibre model of the proposed statue on or before October 3. The best model will be selected on October 4.
