40-Ft Tall Statue Collapses In Rourkela 5 Months After Installation

A giant hockey player's statue near the airport in Odisha's Rourkela collapsed and fell to the ground on Sunday, just five months after it was installed.

40-Ft Tall Statue Collapses In Rourkela 5 Months After Installation
statue

Rourkela: A giant hockey player's statue near the airport in Odisha's Rourkela collapsed and fell to the ground on Sunday, just five months after it was installed.

The 40-foot-tall statue, dedicated to hockey players, was destroyed by a brief thunderstorm in the steel city, according to sources. It was unveiled in advance of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023.

According to locals, the incident highlighted the shoddy work done by authorities during the Hockey World Cup championship. They claimed that the statue could not even stand for six months.

The statue was unveiled in the first week of January this year, next to the Rourkela airport and the world's largest Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, ahead of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023, which will be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

The gusty wind had broken some of the statue's pieces, and the entire structure had fallen to the ground.

According to reports, the Rourkela Smart City spent Rs 30.68 lakh on the statue, which was built in three months by a Bhubaneswar-based firm. The statue was reportedly unveiled before the Hockey World Cup by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.