Sena minister demands 100-ft statue and grand memorial of Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot fort

Mumbai: Shiv Sena minister Deepak Kesarkar has urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to build a 100 feet tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg, where a statue of the warrior king collapsed last month.

In a letter to CM Shinde, Kesarkar said the statue that collapsed was built on 33 'gunthas' of land, and suggested that more land can be reserved by the Malvan Municipal Council for parking of vehicles.

"If this reserved land is clubbed together, 'Shiv Srushti', a grand memorial, can be built to honour the warrior king," he said.

Kesarkar, who hails from Sindhudurg district, said a jetty can also be built, from where people can visit the Sindhudurg fort with the help of a boat, and get a glimpse of a structure that was a very important aspect of Chhatrapati Shivaji's naval prowess.

The School Education Minister said he has already made a presentation of his plan before his cabinet colleague and Public Works Department Minister Ravindra Chavan. He said he will soon give a presentation to the chief minister.

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

Earlier this week, the Maharashtra government issued a tender for the construction of a new 60-foot-tall statue there, nearly twice the size of the previous one. 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, officials said.