FALLOUT OF A STATUE'S FALL

Symbolically or otherwise, it could not have come at a worst time. The fall of a Shivaji statue, eight months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated it and a couple of months short of the assembly election, has put the ruling Mahayuti coalition in a corner and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in prime position to claim high rhetorical advantage.

- Dhaval S. Kulkarni

The 35-foot statue, which Modi had inaugurated on December 4, Navy Day, collapsed from its perch at the Rajkot Fort in Malvan, along Maharashtra's Konkan coastline, on August 26. A project conceived by the Indian Navy, it was executed by the state government, with a total of Rs 2.4 crore spent on the statue and the pedestal. Apart from the funds, "the state had no role in the process," a senior state government official told INDIA TODAY. A navy statement clarified this further: "The project was conceptualised and steered by the Indian Navy, in coordination with the state government, which also provided the funding for it." It also accepted the onus for assisting in repair and early reinstatement of the statue.

Drawing such a line of responsibility many not fully be a sign of wanton abdication by the state government in this instance. On August 20, just six days before its collapse, the assistant engineer at the state public works department had written to the navy pointing out how the nuts and bolts in the joints had rusted due to the rains and salty winds. The letter asked for sculptor Jaydeep Apte, who had carried out repairs on the statue in June, to be given instructions to come up with a permanent solution.