Renowned sculptor Ram Sutar's firm gets contract for new Shivaji statue at Rajkot Fort

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has awarded the contract to construct a new 60-foot-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot Fort in Malvan to renowned sculptor Ram Sutar's firm.

Earlier this year, a 35-foot statue of the Maratha warrior king collapsed at the fort in Malvan taluka of Sindhudurg district on August 26, just months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled it on December 4 last year.

Talking to PTI on Saturday, Anil Sutar, the son of the Padma Shri awardee sculptor, said the new statue made of bronze will be 60 feet in height and erected on a 10-foot pedestal.

The statue will have Shivaji Maharaj standing with a sword raised in his hand, he said.

"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," he said.

The collapse of the previous statue at Rajkot Fort triggered a political row, with the opposition parties accusing the ruling Mahayuti government of insulting the 17th-century Maratha empire founder by building the substandard statue.

Following the collapse, the police arrested sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte, consultant Chetan Patil and the fabricator were arrested.

The government had later constituted a committee for the construction of a grand statue.