Rourkela: The mystery surrounding the collapse of the statue depicting a hockey player here continues. The administration has said that the statue is of the legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand as it had been erected at a place known as Major Dhyan Chand Square. However, till now, no plausible clause has been offered as to why the statue came crashing down. The fact-finding team, which was supposed to complete the investigation in a week, is yet to submit its report. On the 12th of this month, the 40 feet statue of Major Dhyan Chand collapsed as the first nor’ wester of the season hit the city. It had been erected just ahead of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup held earlier in the year and had become a major tourist attraction. However, when it collapsed, this city lost one of its iconic structures. The administration has blamed miscreants for the collapse of the statue.
Officials had said that a portion of the pole supporting the structure had been cut off. However there were no answers to questions like how could the statue collapse due to a storm or what was the guard doing when miscreants had allegedly tampered with the pole. The BJP has alleged a sinister plan behind the whole episode. BJP state spokesperson Dhiren Senapaty said, “This is a big scam. Why eight mm steel was used to support such a huge statue? Many more facts will emerge if the media is allowed to go near the statue.” The Congress also has termed the entire episode as fishy. Congress leader Biren Senapaty said, “What are they (administration) trying to hide? This is nothing but pushing things under the rug and hiding facts from the public.” Initially, when the statue collapsed, a two-member team comprising a PWD engineer and a professor from NIT Rourkela was formed to investigate the matter. The team was then expanded with the joining of the sub-collector of Sundargarh district and two more engineers.
However, till now facts have not emerged. Deputy Commissioner of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC), Sudhansu Bhoi termed the entire episode as ‘sabotage’. “The team will soon present its report,” Bhoi informed Monday. “We believe it was an act of sabotage the way the steel poles have been cut. Had the poles got broken on their own, the edges would have been rough,” Bhoi added. He also informed that the statue will be re-erected once investigations are completed.