Nagpur: The bhoomipujan ceremony for what is being dubbed as the tallest statue of Maratha Warrior King Chhatrapati Shivaji on a throne was held in Nagpur on Sunday. The 51-feet statue of Shivaji is being built inside Nagpur University campus near Maharajbagh.
An over 600-feet statue of the king has already been planned in the sea at Mumbai, but the project appears to be in cold storage. So, the organizers say the one in Nagpur would be the tallest statue. The statue here would be ready in a year, members of the organizing team said. Having an estimated cost of Rs 20 crore, the statue at Nagpur is being built with public contributions.
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19 April 2025
The Smarak Samiti — which is building the statue — is headed by Deputy President of Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Mangesh Duke.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis performed the bhoomipujan. Nitin Gadkari also addressed the audience at Vasantrao Deshpande Hall. The event was attended by politicians cutting across party lines. Gadkari shared the dais with former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Jogendra Kawade of People’s Republican Party was also on the dais.
Gadkari also announced a personal contribution of Rs 5 lakh and asked the Samiti to build the statue with funds generated only through public donations. He also asked Nagpur University to spare a part of its land towards the entrance for constructing a road as the spot has become accident-prone.
However, a number of guests did not turn up for the function. The event was supposed to be attended by Leader of the Opposition Ajit Pawar and Aditya Thackeray. Both did not turn up.
Thackeray was at other functions of Shiv Sena (UBT) on Sunday. However, Pawar gave no reasons for cancelling his visit, Duke said. Though Duke is from MNS, Raj Thackeray too skipped the event. Duke said he has promised to visit the site in future. Shivaji’s descendant and BJP MP from Satara Udayanraje Bhosale also skipped the event due to health reasons. The guest list included almost every important local politician though all did not turn up.
Duke said that the process of installing the statue began in 2015 with the University Management Committee giving approval to give the land. After the delay due to the Covid pandemic, final approval was given recently.
Gadkari said that a sound and music show on Shivaji’s life is also being planned at an auditorium proposed in the university.
