BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday denied corruption charges levelled by the Congress in connection with idols installed in Ujjain's Mahakal Lok corridor collapsing, and blamed the gusty winds for the incident.
It also claimed that the installation work order had been issued during the Congress regime.
On Sunday, six out of seven idols of `Saptarishis' (seven sages) installed along the Mahakal Lok corridor on the premises of Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain city fell off their pedestals amid stormy weather.
Opposition Congress alleged that the installation work was inferior as a result of corruption.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Urban Administration Minister Bhupendra Singh denied the allegation.
Gusty winds of 55 kilometers per hour led to the incident, he said.
The seven statues of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP), each 11 feet tall, are installed on a 10-feet platform, the minister said, adding that each of them weighs around 300 kg.
These heavy statues got damaged but other statues in the vicinity were intact, he said.
The work order for 100 FRP idols cost a total of Rs 7.75 crore was issued during the Congress regime on March 7, 2019, the minister claimed.
As much as Rs 96.97 crore have been spent on the project so far.
The decision to install FRP idols, in the first place, was taken during the Congress regime, a document distributed at the press conference stated.
Payment for the work was made on March 31, 2021, the minister said.
The quality of the statues had been approved by a team of officials, he added.
State Congress spokesperson K K Mishra said that as Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan takes credit for the development of Mahakal Lok, he should also tell why the government was not taking any action on the complaint of corruption in the work made by Congress MLA Mahesh Parmar despite the registration of a case by the Lokayukta.
Congress legislator Sajjan Singh Verma, who was Public Works Department minister when the work orders were issued, said while the centuries-old temples remained intact, newly installed idols were blown away.
Substandard construction took place under this project during the BJP regime, he alleged.
A Congress committee headed by Verma inspected Mahakal Lok on Tuesday.
