Statue of Shivaji Maharaj...

Recently I read about Maharashtra Government's decision of building a big statue of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Arabian Sea near Mumbai.The project will cost Rs 200 Crores!

What followed was Mr.Kumar Ketkar's comments in Loksatta about how it is not right to spend such huge amounts on building statues than using the same funds for the welfare of the citizens.I think Mr.Ketkar is absolutely right.Political outfits like the one who attacked Mr.Ketkar's house are coward and they do not understand the meaning of "democracy" and "freedom of the speech"

In case we have that kind of money with the government, why can't we create a charity trust in the name of Shivaji Maharaj and use the interest on that money/donations to the trust for needy people?Even if we target the corpus of Rs 200 Crores to start with and keep this money in fixed deposits in Nationalised bank,safely we can earn INR 18-19 Crores per year with prevailing interest rates.Imagine how many poor children can go to school with that money and how many poor patients can get free medical help with that fund!

In the city of Mumbai,when we already have many places named after Shivaji Maharaj,(Airport,Railway terminus,Musium etc ),then why do we need to create one more landmark with the same name?

I think all of us who have Shivaji Maharaj in the heart and worship this great maratha king for his qualities,should spread this message and suggest the political parties,the press and the government to use the funds for a charity trust and create a great institution named after Shivaji which will bring smiles to thousands of not so privileged brothers and sisters of ours.In case you agree to this point,I suggest,please share this thought with the people around you and let me know your views and ideas.