PM Modi unveils Shivaji Maharaj statue in Pune municipal corporation premises

Pune, Mar 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday unveiled a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the premises of Pune Municipal Corporation. The statue is made up of 1,850 kg of gunmetal and is about 9.5-feet tall.

Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol greeted Modi on his arrival at the municipal corporation headquarters here and offered him a specially crafted headgear. The PM also paid floral tributes to the statue of social reformer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule at the civic headquarters.

Earlier, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, state cabinet minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis and BJP state president Chandrakant Patil welcomed Modi after he landed at the Lohegaon International Airport here.

The prime minister will also inaugurate the Pune metro rail's two priority stretches of 12 km, out of the total 32.2 km project in the city. The foundation stone of the metro project was also laid by Modi on Dec 24, 2016. The entire metro project is being built at the cost of more than Rs 11,400 crore.