- Thursday, October 31, 2024
The Navy says it remains committed to assisting in all measures to repair, restore and reinstate the statue at the earliest
By: Shajil Kumar
THE INDIAN Navy on Thursday said it conceptualised and steered the project of installing the Shivaji statue, which collapsed in Maharashtra’s Malvan this week, in coordination with the state government that also provided funding.
The Navy said in a statement that it remains committed to assisting in all measures to repair, restore and reinstate the statue at the earliest.
A joint technical committee headed by Indian Navy officials, representatives of the state government and technical experts is being formed to probe the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in Malvan, the Navy said.
Late on Wednesday night, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde held a meeting of top officials of the state government and the Indian Navy.
The Navy said the statue was unveiled as part of the Navy Day celebrations, held for the first time in Sindhudurg district, aimed at honouring the legacy of the “Maratha Navy” and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj towards maritime defence and security, and its historical linkage with the modern Indian Navy.
“The project was conceptualised and steered by the Indian Navy, in coordination with the state government which also provided funding for it,” the Navy said.
The 35-foot statue of the 17th-century Maratha empire founder installed at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg district’s Malvan tehsil collapsed on August 26, nearly nine months after it was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The state government has maintained that the structure was designed and built by the Navy and ordered a probe into the crash episode.
However, the incident triggered a political storm in Maharashtra, with the opposition accusing the state government of corruption and insulting the Maratha warrior king.
They also sought the chief minister’s resignation.
Corrosion
Corroded nuts and bolts likely contributed to the collapse of the Shivaji statue by causing a failure in steel members forming the frame inside the statue, according to a structural engineer.
‘Ankles’ of a statue, where the weight of the entire structure comes to rest upon, are most critical for stability and hence, require special attention during the design stage, said Amresh Kumar, a structural engineer with a consultancy.
“In this statue’s case, external factors such as loads or climatic conditions do not appear to have caused trouble. Rather, corrosion in the nuts and bolts, as mentioned in the PWD report, could have caused a failure of steel members making up the frame inside the statue,” Kumar told PTI.
On August 20, an assistant engineer at the Maharashtra Public Works Department (PWD) had written to Naval commander Abhishek Karbhari, Area Coastal Security Officer and Area Civil-Military Liaison Officer, pointing out that the nuts and bolts used in fixing the statue on the fort were catching rust because of exposure to ocean winds and rains.
“While steel members forming a structure – in this case, the statue’s frame – are commonly protected against corrosion, the nuts and bolts used in connecting these members are commonly ignored, leaving them more vulnerable due to exposure to environment,” Kumar said.
He recommended that along with members, nuts and bolts also be protected, either by painting or galvanising, especially in coastal regions where the air is rich in moisture and salt, and is therefore, more corrosive. Galvanisation refers to applying a protective layer of zinc on steel or iron, usually by dipping them in molten zinc. (PTI)
