Won’t shift Shivaji memorial, says Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has ruled out the possibility of shifting the proposed Chhatrapati Shivaji Memorial from its pre-sent location in the Ar-abian Sea off the Mumbai coast. Last week, one person died after a boat carrying 25 people capsized in the sea off the city coast. The boat was headed to the site of the memorial and work on the same was about to begin. The tragedy has revived demand for shifting the location of the project to within the city.

“There is no reason for changing the location. The memorial will be constructed at the same location. We have begun work and it will be completed within the deadline,” Mr Fadnavis told the media. About the accident, he said, “Initial investigation into it suggests that the mishap occurred after the boat operator took a short cut to the memorial site.”

One Siddhesh Pawar died when the boat capsized in the sea after ramming into a rock. Work on the memorial was scheduled to start that day and all concerned senior officers were in another boat headed to the site. Meanwhile, the letter of the state government-appointed coordination committee under the leadership of BJP MLC Vinay-ak Mete has gone viral. Ac-cording to the letter, technical and administrative permissions for the memorial work have not yet been cleared.

However, Mr Fadnavis claimed that the situation was different. The project had got all requisite permissions after all aspects, including location, were considered, he said.