Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday inspected the Keshavrao Bhosale Natyagruha in Kolhapur, which was gutted by a fire on the night of August 8. He was accompanied by Kolhapur Guardian Minister Hasan Mushrif and other Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Pawar described the incident as "a very sad event for the people of Kolhapur and for all the artistes." He added, "I would like to assure the people of Kolhapur that I will do my best to repair this damage as soon as possible and rebuild this auditorium in the same spirit and style."
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday announced a grant of ₹20 crore to rebuild the iconic 109-year-old auditorium.
"Police investigations are ongoing to ascertain the cause of the fire. I have been informed that the insurance cover is ₹5 crore. The artistes and people of Kolhapur want the theatre to be rebuilt as it was. Since our government respects the emotions of the people, I am announcing ₹20 crore to rebuild the theatre on a war footing. The estimate for rebuilding the theatre is ₹25 crore," said Shinde while inspecting the site.
Keshavrao Bhosale Natyagruha was built in 1915 under the initiative of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, who ruled the princely state of Kolhapur between 1884 and 1922 and is revered for his social reforms.
The auditorium, named after the late singer-actor Keshavrao Bhosale, was located in the Khasbag area and was managed by the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC).
(With PTI inputs)
