MES delayed Shiva Charitra Project, alleges MLA patil

BELAGAVI: Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti intentionally delayed the work of the Shiv Charitra Garden, alleged Belagavi South MLA Abhay Patil. The park intends to showcase the prominent events in the life of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji and the project has been delayed for five years.
Speaking at a council meeting of the Belagavi City Corporation (BCC) here on Saturday, Patil said he had started the project in November 2012 and 95% of the work was completed by 2013 assembly elections. “The next MLA did not complete the remaining 5% work in his tenure just for political reasons,” he alleged without taking the name of former MLA Sambhaji Patil.

The MLA said the statues and sound system installed in thepark had rusted due to the delay and an additional Rs 55 lakh had to be spent to rectify them. He added that the Shiv Charitra project at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Garden in Shahapur would be dedicated to the public in December by a Union minister.

Abhay Patil said, “MES did not complete the Shiv Charitra project so that I would not get credit. It did not even consider the fact that it is about a great personality. Many people had opposed the project. However, I am happy that it is getting completed during my tenure.”

Patil said that for the first time Marathi powadas (traditional songs on the life of Shivaji) are been translated to Kannada and will be sung at the Shiv Charitra park.

Meanwhile, he took mayor Basappa Chikkaldinni to task for holding development related meetings in the BCC without informing local MLAs. The mayor said such ewrrors would not be repeated.

Opposition members raised questions over the agenda of t he meeting being prepared without taking the council members and chairmen of various standing committees into confidence. The mayor said all of them would be consulted from the next meeting. However, when opposition members refused to relent and the chaos increased, the mayor adjourned the meeting for 10 minutes.