According to witnesses, the event was led by a group of about 100 Shiv Sena workers, who entered the premises and garlanded the statue with flowers. Music was also played at the venue.
In a move that took city airport authorities by surprise, a group of Shiv Sena workers on Saturday forcibly unveiled the statue of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji. The airport operator was in fact waiting for schedule from leaders of political parties to unveil the bronze statue.
According to witnesses, the event was led by a group of about 100 Shiv Sena workers, who entered the premises and garlanded the statue with flowers. Music was also played at the venue.
Officials involved in the construction of a 5,000sqm museum at the spot said that the yet-to-be-built building will have items that will chronicle the life and times of Shivaji. A 9-metre-high statue atop the main hall is expected to give tourists and visitors to the city a glimpse of the warrior's glorious historical past. It will be the first such museum in the city, dedicated entirely to the relics of Shivaji.
The statue has been sourced from Aurangabad, and is different from the ones that depict him astride a horse. Built by airport operator Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), the museum will be located towards the start of an elevated road abutting the Western Express Highway near Vile Parle.
The building housing Shivaji's statue and museum has political connotations, as parties, including Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which claim to be upholding the warrior's legacy, have for long been demanding a grand statue at the airport.
In 2006, during the initial phase of development of the airport, political parties had raised a hue and cry over the shifting of the statue from its earlier position near Sahar.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Shivaji")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}