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Pune civic body to conduct structural audit of 50 statues
PMC will conduct a structural audit of over 50 statues in Pune for safety and stability after the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse in Malvan.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to undertake a structural audit of over 50 statues installed across the city in the wake of the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Malvan.
Most of the statues are installed at Karve Road, Yerwada, Kasba Peth, Central Peth areas, Kothrud, Mandai, and Shivajinagar areas with funds from the state government, donations and under corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
The building designs department has collected details of such statues and work will commence Monday, September 1, said officials.
Yuvraj Deshmukh, chief engineer, building design department, said, “We have obtained information of 50 statues from the municipal secretary’s office. Some of the statues are in the form of busts while some of them are full statues.”
“The structural audit is being done from a safety and stability point of view. We will ensure that adequate security is maintained and wherever essential repairs will be carried out,” he added.
PMC administration has not done any structural audit of any of the public statues so far since their installation.
The statues are spruced up only for anniversaries and important events commemorating personalities. For those special occasions, tenders are released for painting and cleaning work and after that no review is undertaken for the entire year till the special occasion arises.
The rules state that the statues should not be installed in any private property without the permission of the state government committee and the plot should be “a non-controversial land”. The rules add that the police must give clearance after thorough checks. If a statue must be installed on government land, necessary permissions from the departments concerned are required. The statue should not come in the way of traffic movement.
Jaymala Dhankikar, citizen rights activist, said, “The statues are symbols of our history and pride and hence PMC must always ensure their longevity and safety. At the same time, it must ensure that the statues are kept clean. The statues under jurisdiction of PMC are unclean and need a cleaning at the earliest.”
“Structural audit is a welcome step, and it would determine their safety and stability,” he added.
