Locals protest demolition of canopy of 600-yr-old memorial, 3 Kota officials suspended

Kota (Rajasthan): The Kota administration have suspended three officials after Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat flagged the demolition of the canopy of a 600-year-old memorial of ruler Rao Surajmal in a village for the proposed airport here, according to a Sunday order.

A three-member committee has been constituted to investigate the matter and submit a report, according to the order.

Angered over the demolition, the Bundi royal family and locals have called for a demonstration on Monday.

Shekhawat took to X to share about the incident saying, "The demolition of the chhatri of Bundi Naresh Rao Surajmal Hada is a sad and distressing incident. Did KDA commit this act despite knowing the historical importance of the chhatri? Investigation and adequate action is necessary in this regard."

"It is the moral responsibility of the system operators to keep public sentiment supreme," the minister said.

The memorial, built in the honour of Rao Surajmal, the 9th ruler of the erstwhile Bundi state, is located in the neighbouring Bundi district in Tulsi village. The demolition was carried out on Saturday by the Kota Development Authority (KDA).

Meanwhile, Bundi MLA Harimohan Sharma, Vanshvardhan Singh of the Bundi royal family and members of the Karni Sena and Rajput community on Sunday visited the demolished site and condemned the KDA's actions.

Kota Collector Ravindra Goswami, who is also the chairman of KDA spoke to them over phone. He told them that one bigha (27,000 sq ft) of land along the national highway in Ballop panchayat of Bundi district has been allotted as an alternative to the existing 16 biswa land (21,600 sq ft) rebuild the statue.

However, the Rajput community representatives and local villagers, disagreed with this arrangement and demanded that the proposed airport be named after Rao Surajmal and that his statue be installed at its entrance.

The Rajput community, under the aegis of Karni Sena, called for a demonstration at the Bundi district collectorate on Monday to protest against the demolition.

In an order issued by the KDA secretary on Saturday night, Tehsildar Praveen Kumar, land record inspector Murlidhar, and a patwari, who were involved in razing the historic canopy, were suspended with immediate effect for "hurting public sentiments" and "negligence" in executing government work.

The Kota district collector issued an order forming a three-member probe committee comprising the SDM of Kota, an officer on special duty at KDA, and the tehsildar of Ladpura, directing them to submit a report on the matter.

MLA Harimohan Sharma said one bigha of land along the national highway in Ballop had already been allotted for the reconstruction of Rao Surajmal Chattri, and the KDA chairman has assured that the chattri would be reconstructed on the new land.

He added that the KDA chairman told him the site was razed following a direction in a letter from the Airport Authority ofIndia (AAI) without comprehending its historic and heritage significance, but the body now regretted its actions.

Vanshvardhan Singh condemned the demolition, emphasising that it was a 600-year-old site of significance where inscriptions on stone and other objects of historic importance were destroyed.

He urged KDA officials to safely remove and extract rubble from the site, as some significant inscriptions or articles might be lying beneath, while claiming to stand with public sentiment on the issue of agreeing to new land for the Chattri.