Joint Technical Committee of Navy-State Government to Investigate the Collapse of Shivaji Maharaj’s Statue – Chief Minister Eknath Shinde

Mumbai : Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced the formation of a joint technical committee, including civil engineers, experts, and officers from IIT and the Navy, to investigate the reasons behind the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Rajkot, Malvan taluka. This committee will conduct a thorough investigation into this unfortunate incident and determine responsibility.

The Chief Minister also directed the Public Works Department to assemble a committee of the country’s best sculptors, civil engineers, experts, and naval officers to design and erect a grand and fitting statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that honors his legacy.

In response to this incident, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde convened a meeting at Varsha with key officials. Attendees included Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Public Works Minister and Guardian Minister Ravindra Chavan, School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar, Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik, Additional Chief Secretary Home Iqbal Singh Chahal, Additional Chief Secretary Public Works Manisha Mhaiskar, Additional Chief Secretary Urban Development Asim Gupta, Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary Brijesh Singh, Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla, Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Rear Admiral Manish Chadha, and architects Ram Sutar, Vinay Wagh, and Shashikant Wadke.

Chief Minister Shinde also directed the appointment of a committee comprising members from JJ School of Arts, IIT, prominent civil engineers, renowned sculptors from Maharashtra, and technical officers from the Navy to design and erect a new, grand statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Shinde expressed that the incident was unfortunate and has deeply affected the sentiments of Shivaji’s devotees. He acknowledged that the Navy had erected the statue in Rajkot with good intentions during Navy Day celebrations. The Chief Minister emphasized the importance of preventing such incidents in the future and ensuring that the new statue truly represents Shivaji Maharaj’s image. He assured that there would be no shortage of funds for this project.