On 14th December, the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra awarded the contrast of a new Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue to renowned sculptor Ram Sutar’s firm. A 60-foot-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will come up at Rajkot Fort in Malvan.
The development comes after the earlier 35-foot statue of the Maratha warrior king collapsed earlier this year on 26th August. The earlier statue was also built at the Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg district’s Malvan taluka. The statue collapsed just months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled it on 4th December 2023.
The collapse of the then-newly unveiled Chhatrapati statue had triggered a political row, with the Mahayuti government vowing a thorough probe.
Afterward, the Maharashtra Police arrested the statue’s sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte, consultant Chetan Patil and the fabricator. The Mahayuti government had also constituted a committee for the construction of a grander statue.
On Saturday, speaking with PTI, the son of the Padma Shri awardee sculptor Ram Sutar, Anil Sutar said that the new statue will be made of bronze. It will be 60 feet in height and erected on a 10-foot pedestal.
He added that the statue will have Shivaji Maharaj standing with a sword raised in his hand.
“Around 40 tonnes of bronze and 28 tonnes of stainless steel will be used for the statue, and it will be completed in six months,” Anil Sutar further stated.
