New Delhi: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday unveiled the digital design of a 300-foot statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji in Mumbai which would cost the state Rs 350 crore. That is rich for a state that is battling drought.
As many as 221 taalukas in 27 districts have been declared drought prone, more than 40 farmer suicides have taken place in the last three weeks and there have been reports of 3,000 child malnutrition deaths in tribal areas.
The statue will be constructed on an artificial island a kilometre away in the Arabian Sea off the Marin Lines-Chowpati shore of Mumbai. It will include a library, a museum and an amphitheatre and will rival New York’s Statue of Liberty.
Newspapers report that the statue complex will have a revolving restaurant, viewing gallery, an auditorium, art galleries, food courts and green areas.
The state has sought Rs 11,000 crore form the Centre to fight drought across the state. Senior journalist Kumar Ketkar, editor of Marathi daily Loksatta, called the money being spent on the statue as wastage on “sheer civilizational glory”.
“Maharashtra is going through the severest of drought conditions after 1972. Farmers are committing suicide--then there is total collapse of medical administration because of swine flu,” he said.
“There are so many urgent issues, so why spend such a judge amount of money on sheer civilizational glory. Rs 350 crore is an underestimation because once it is built the frills along with it will come,” said Ketkar.
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