Maharashtra: New 91-foot tall Shivaji Maharaj statue unveiled in Malvan

The new statue was unveiled at Rajkot Fort. Pics/By Special Arrangement

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday unveiled a new 91-foot-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot Fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg district. The event, held in the coastal Konkan region, was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The previous 35-foot statue, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2023, had collapsed in August last year, within nine months after its installation, leading to widespread outrage against the government. Following the incident, the Maharashtra government immediately ordered the installation of another statue at the same place. Accordingly, the new statue was built by Ram Sutar Art Creations.

The incident of statue collapse had sparked blame games among the political parties and the agencies involved in installation. In fact, an FIR was also filed against 24-year-old Jaydeep Apte, who had sculpted the statue, and structural consultant Chetan Patil, in connection to the collapse incident.