The process of taking down the statue of Lionel Messi in the Lake Town area of Kolkata began on Monday morning. The statue was swaying in the wind, prompting the government to consider taking down the statue and relocating it as it was “unsafe” with vehicles going by on the busy thoroughfare. The possible place of relocation has not yet been decided, but it is likely to be at Eco Park in the Rajarhat area.
The statue was held together by ropes from two sides over the last few days to prevent it from falling, while the area around it was barricaded for safety. The attempt now by the State Public Works Department is to take down the statue without causing damage and to relocate it in the same condition, as it involves the sentiments of several football fanatics in the city.
A professor from IIT Kharagpur had visited the spot last week along with engineers of the PWD to see how to take down the statue without causing damage. The issue came to light when Bidhannagar MLA Shadawat Mukherjee noticed the statue swaying in the wind and suggested its removal due to safety issues if the statue fell and hurt people. “It could have fallen and injured people,” said Shadawat Mukherjee.
The 70-foot-tall statue shows Messi holding up the World Cup after Argentina won the tournament in 2022. The statue was set up by former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Minister Sujit Bose, who lost the Bidhannagar seat this time to Mukherjee. The statue was inaugurated virtually by Lionel Messi himself during his Kolkata visit in December last year as part of the GOAT India tour.
The inauguration of the statue took place before Messi entered the Salt Lake Stadium, which turned into a chaotic situation with the former sports minister, Aroop Biswas, and other VIPs surrounding Messi on the field of play. Messi was escorted out of the stadium, and angry fans, who had paid for expensive tickets and could not get a glimpse of Messi, ransacked the stadium, leading to the police resorting to a lathicharge. The Messi mess caused embarrassment to the erstwhile TMC government, which was also a reason for the people to vote the party out of power.
