40-Feet-Tall Hockey Player's Statue Collapses in Odisha's Rourkela

The massive statue of a hockey player built at the road junction between Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium and Rourkela airport toppled on Sunday afternoon, exposing the substandard work done in the run-up to the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup earlier this year.

The statue was erected as part of a beautification effort prior to the huge athletic event in January of this year. Its collapse is being blamed on poor workmanship because the structure could not withstand a 10-minute light thunderstorm.

To avoid humiliation in the aftermath of the tragedy, the Rourkela city administration quickly hinted at a sabotage aspect on social media. It also organised an impartial committee to investigate the cause of the statue's collapse.

Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) not ruling out sabotage angle:

Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) commissioner Subhankar Mohapatra conceded that they have appointed an independent fact-finding committee, consisting of sub-collector of Panposh and superintending engineer of the Roads and Buildings Division will visit the place on Tuesday to understand the cause of the incident.

Mohanty promised to explore all the angles before arriving at a conclusion. As quoted by the News Indian Express, he said:

"As per preliminary report, it appears that the statute caved in due to the Nor’wester. The committee would inquire into all the reasons including structural defects and sabotage. The sabotage angle cannot be ruled out as some evidence has been found in this regard after preliminary investigation."

Previously, on August 27, 2021, a substantial piece of the perimeter wall of the Netaji Subash Chandra Bose fitness park in front of the RMC headquarters fell due to severe rain for almost 90 minutes. The event was blamed on poor workmanship.