Congress party workers staged a protest in Maharashtra`s Latur district against the state government`s policies for farmers and symbolically presented its memorandum to a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, while claiming the administration was not paying heed to the issues of cultivators, PTI reported.
The local Congress unit on Monday held a protest, led by Latur MP Dr Shivaji Kalge, at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk in Latur.
As per PTI, the protesters raised several demands, including full loan waivers for farmers, adequate day time electricity supply, removal of GST on agricultural equipment and establishment of a soybean research centre in the district.
Kalge expressed disappointment over the government`s alleged lack of seriousness in resolving farmers` issues.
The Congress leaders symbolically kept their memorandum of demands before the statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj instead of submitting it to the administration, PTI reported.
Maharashtra: CM monitoring Shivaji statue installation at Rajkot fort
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is personally monitoring progress of the installation of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at Rajkot fort in Malvan, in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district. According to a senior Mantralaya official, the installation of the statue in the coastal Konkan region is on Fadnavis’s review agenda for the next 100-day plan for the transformation programme for Maharashtra.
Nitesh Rane, minister for fisheries and ports said, “Chief minister is personally monitoring every development when it comes to the installation of the legendary Maratha warrior statue at Rajkot fort.” On August 26, 2024, the 35-foot statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at Rajkot fort collapsed. The statue was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4, 2023, during the Navy Day celebration.
But, within seven months, the statue collapsed. The incident not only sparked blame games between agencies involved in the installation of the statue but even allowed opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders to slam the ruling (then Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde-led Mahayuti) government. An FIR was filed against 24-year-old Jaydeep Apte who had sculpted the statue and structural consultant Chetan Patil, in connection with the collapse.
Apte, the owner of an art company based out of Kalyan, allegedly had no prior experience of constructing large statues. Immediately after the mishap, the state government appointed a committee under the additional chief secretary (ACS), Public Works Department (PWD), Manisha Patankar Mhaiskar to suggest ways to get a new statue installed.
(With agency inputs)
