In an administrative reshuffle undertaken a week after the much-discussed collapse of the imposing statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Maharashtra Government has shunted out Sindhudurg district collector Kishor S Tawade and posted him in a relatively insignificant position as the new Managing Director of the Pune-based Maharashtra State Farming Corporation Ltd.
Anil A. Patil, currently the Managing Director of the State-run Haffkine Bio Pharmaceuticals Corporation Ltd, will replace Tawade as the district collector of Sindhudrug district, where a 35-feet tall statue had crashed on August 26 sparking major public uproar across the state.
It may be recalled that the iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj — with the sword held high in his right hand — had collapsed at 12.30 pm on August 26 at Rajkot fort at Malvan in Sindhudurg district, within nine months after it was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4, 2023 as part of the Navy day celebrations.
Tawade -- who had taken over as the Sindhudurg district collector on August 23, 2023 -- was the district collector of Sindhudurg district when Modi unveiled the Shivaji statue on December 4, 2023, in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Admiral R Hari Kumar (Retd), the then Chief of Naval Staff, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and two Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
Following the Shivaji statue’s collapse on August 26, there were massive protests by the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) at Malvan and different parts of the state. The Opposition MVA had demanded the resignations of chief minister Eknath Shinde and two deputy chief ministers Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
On August 28, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar apologised publicly to “13 crore people of the people of the state” over the collapse of the Shivaji statue.
Later on August 30, in an apparent effort to blunt the Opposition’s full-fledged campaign the BJP-led MahaYuti government and the Centre over the collapse of Shivaji Maharaj’s statue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tendered public apology over the statue crash, while speaking at a function after laying a foundation stone for Rs 76,000 crore Vadhvan Port in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.
