Drought stricken M'rashtra builds Rs 350 cr statue

New Delhi, Aug 26: The Maharashtra government, on Wednesday, Aug 26 came out with the digital design of a Rs 350 crore worth state sponsored 300-foot Chhatrapati Shivaji statue, which would be erected in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, in the last three weeks, the state facing a 'drought like situation' in almost 157 taluks have recorded 2,000 child malnutrition deaths and 40 farmer suicides.

A competition to New York's Statue of Liberty, this statue would be placed on an artificial island, a kilometre away in the Arabian Sea. It would also include a library, a museum and an amphitheatre.

Newspaper reports revealed that the complex would also comprise a revolving restaurant, viewing gallery, an auditorium, art galleries, food courts and green areas.

On the other hand, Maharashtra government is said to have borrowed Rs 11,000 crore from the Centre to fight the drought.

Senior journalist Kumar Ketkar, editor of Marathi daily Loksatta, commented on the statue as wastage on “sheer civilizational glory". He added that the government should now spend the money on Swine Flu administration and farmer suicides.

“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.

OneIndia News