The Hindu : National : Partial recovery of Indira Gandhi statue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 07, 2005

National

National

Partial recovery of Indira Gandhi statue

S. Dorairaj

The statue was extricated from the thick blanket of mud after five hours of combined effort. It was then airlifted to the Campbell Bay

— Photo: V. Ganesan

IMPACT OF TSUNAMI: Lt. General Aditya Singh, Commander-in-Chief, Andaman & Nicobar Command, at Naval Detachment at Campbell Bay inspecting the bust of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi retrieved from the sea near Indira Point off the Great Nicobar Island.

PORT BLAIR: The administration and the unified command of the armed forces in the Andaman and Nicobar (A and N) islands are elated. The reason: the retrieval of one part of the larger than life bronze statue of the former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, from the sea off Indira Point, four months after reactivating the lighthouse at the southernmost tip of the country's territory.

Andaman and Nicobar Lt.Governor Ram Kapse said the 18 feet statue was sculpted by a Delhi-based artist at a cost of Rs.8.85 lakhs. The decision to install it at the Indira Point was taken by the Director (Education) in 1999 under the Art and Culture Scheme.

But the project was delayed owing to objections raised by the Department of Lights and Lightships (DLL) on the ground that structures taller than 4.5 metres were not allowed in the area as per the Lighthouse Act.

Tug-of-war

No venue commonly acceptable to the administration, political representatives and the DLL for installing the statue could be finalised. Even as the tug-of-war was going on, the statue was kept in two parts in a temporary shelter near the lighthouse.

When a venue was decided upon, the tsunami struck, scuttling the scheduled visit of the Lt.Governor and the sculptor to inspect the site.

Indira Point was submerged and the statue was washed away. The task of the retrieval of the statue was handed over to the unified command. The Commander-in-Chief, A and N Command, Lt. General Aditya Singh, highlighted the rescue operation, which became difficult due to intermittent rain and lack of landing facility for aircraft.

A dornier aircraft and two MI-8 helicopters were pressed into service.

More teams deployed

Though the statue was located by the 10-member team of the Marine Commandos on May 14 at a distance of about 300 metres from its original location, they could not move it. Two other teams comprising 40 men were inducted the next day to reinforce the recovery team. The Coast Guard Ship, `ICG Ganga Devi' was stationed off the Indira Point to provide search and rescue cover.

After five hours of combined effort, the statue was extricated from the thick blanket of mud. It was then airlifted to the Campbell Bay, 30 km away. The statue is now kept at the Naval Detachment at Campbell Bay. Efforts would be made to trace the second part of the statue after the monsoon .

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