Lake Town Messi statue may go Salt Lake’s ‘Football-Man’ way

Kolkata: Barely six months after it was unveiled as a towering tribute to football star Lionel Messi, Kolkata's 64-foot Monumento De Messi in Lake Town is set to be removed after a police complaint was registered alleging the structure is swaying dangerously during strong winds, triggering safety fears among residents.The 44-foot giant statue — a fibreglass structure supported by an iron framework that rests on a 20-foot concrete plinth — was inaugurated by Messi on Dec 13 last year during his GOAT India Tour. The statue was commissioned by Sreebhumi Sporting Club, patronised by former fire minister Sujit Bose."The statue's feet have not been properly balanced. That is an engineering problem. Because of that, the statue is swaying, especially during strong winds. The structure may become unstable and topple. So it should be removed," a PWD official who inspected the statue on Monday said. Officials said a framework using a bolt-and-angle system was installed over a 25 mm iron sheet structure, topped with another iron layer. The outer surface was sculpted using fibreglass, while the inner supporting structure was built with cast iron.The PWD authorities also raised questions regarding permissions linked to the installation. "It was PWD land, but no NOC was taken. The former minister used his influence to build the structure on this land," an official said.The development comes two days after another iconic statue in the city — the Football Man structure outside Salt Lake stadium — was demolished on Saturday.According to cops, a group of morning walkers first raised the issue about the swaying statue on Monday. They reached the Lake Town police station and filed a complaint, after which a meeting was called by South Dum Dum Municipality executive officer in presence of cops and PWD officials wherein it was decided that the statue will be removed."The statue indeed sways during strong winds. We have noticed it on a number of occasions and had raised the issue with the club authorities as well, but they never paid any heed," said a 65-year-old resident of Lake Town.Constructed in 40 days, the massive installation was created by a 45-member team of local artisans led by sculptor Monty Paul. Paul, while agreeing that the statue does sway, assured that it was never unsafe. "Since the statue is made of fibreglass and stands on two legs, it was built in a manner that it would sway to balance against strong winds and earthquakes. It is like a tree that may bend but will not get uprooted just like that. If the authorities believe it is unsafe, they can contact me and I can still fix its swing," said Paul.