Six of seven idols of ‘Saptarishis’ installed at the Mahakal Lok corridor in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain city collapsed and suffered damages due to gusty winds. While several idols fell on the grounds, others had their heads and hands broken. No casualties were reported in the incident despite a large number of devotees gathered at the Mahakal Lok. The incident took place at around 4 pm.
PM Modi inaugurated Mahakal Lok corridor
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Mahakal Lok corridor project in October last year. Measuring more than 900 meters in length, the massive corridor is built around the old Rudragsar Lake. The corridor consists of 200 idols of Shiva.
It was built at the cost of Rs 850 crore and has allowed pilgrims visiting the ancient Mahakaleshrwar temple to experience high-end amenities.
One of the 12 jyotirlingas in the country, devotes gather in flocks to get a glimpse of the Mahakaleshwar Temple throughout the year.
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Congress hits out at BJP
The incident has led Congress to take pot shots at the ruling party BJP in the state, alleging corruption in the project and demanding a probe the “sub-standard” quality of construction.
“There are a total of 160 idols installed at the Mahakal Lok corridor, out of them six idols of ‘Saptarishis’ (seven sages) that were around 10 feet tall fell down around 4 pm as strong winds swept through the area,” Ujjain Collector Kumar Purshottam said.
After the incident, the corridor was immediately closed and was reopened for devotees at 7 pm. The damaged idols were placed in the corridor itself, a official said, adding they will be restored.
“The corridor is spread across around one km. When the idols collapsed, the premises were packed with visitors, but nobody was injured in the incident,” another official said.
He informed that three people died in other incidents in Ujjain due to gutsy winds and heavy rainfalls.
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