Statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj would not have collapsed had it been made of stainless steel, says Gadkari

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Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that if stainless steel had been used for the construction of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue at Rajkot Fort in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, it would not have collapsed.

Gadkari also pitched for the use of rust-resistant products in coastal areas, news agency PTI reported.

The collapse of the statue of the iconic founder of the Maratha state on August 26 triggered a political row ahead of Assembly elections in Maharashtra.

According to the road transport and highways minister, he has been insisting on the use of stainless steel in the construction of bridges built close to sea.

Recalling his days as the public works department (PWD) minister of Maharashtra, Gadkari said he was fooled by a person during the construction of 55 flyovers in Mumbai.

"He put some powder coating on iron rods and said those were rust-proof. But rust emerged on them. I believe that stainless steel should be used within 30 km of sea. If stainless steel had been used for building the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, it would have never collapsed," Gadkari said at an event in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, the police in Sindhudurg district have issued a look out circular (LOC) against contractor Jaydeep Apte in connection with the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue at Rajkot Fort.

The LOC is issued to airports and all other exit points to stop Apte from fleeing the country.

Apte, a Thane-based sculptor, had executed the contract to make the statue. Following its collapse on August 26, less than nine months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it on the coastal fort, Malvan police registered a case against Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil for negligence and other offences. Patil was arrested from Kolhapur, while the search was on for Apte, a police officer said.

Earlier while speaking to a Marathi news channel, Patil said that he had submitted the design of the platform to the Indian Navy through PWD, but had nothing to do with the construction of the statue itself. "A Thane-based company did the statue-related work. I was just asked to work on the platform on which the statue was being constructed," said Patil.

(With PTI inputs)