Indore, Jan 14 (PTI) A trust that preserves the charitable properties of former Holkar rulers of Indore on Wednesday alleged that multiple statues of Goddess Ahilyabai Holkar were damaged in the name of redevelopment of Varanasi’s historic Manikarnika Ghat.
The Indore-based private trust strongly condemned this act and said it will take legal action against the agencies concerned.
Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, the 18th century queen of the Malwa kingdom, is revered as one of the most visionary and benevolent rulers in Indian history.
According to the trust, she first renovated the Manikarnika Ghat in 1791.
The site has a structure housing statues of the late queen.
According to a statement issued by ‘The Khasgi Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Charities Trust’, on January 10, without due notice or warning, allegedly under instructions from the Varanasi municipal authorities, the Manikarnika Ghat was demolished in a matter of hours (as part of its redevelopment).
This was done with complete disregard to the site’s history or importance, it alleged.
The statement said, “The sacred and historic statues of Devi Ahilyabai, a figure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has revered as a great guardian of India’s culture, now lie in the rubble of this hazardous development.” According to the statement, the trust, as the foremost custodian of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar’s legacy and of the Manikarnika Ghat, has taken immediate action to recover these statues and is initiating legal action against the agencies responsible for the damage caused to them.
The trust and the erstwhile Holkar royal family of Indore, descendants of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, strongly condemned this “shameful and disrespectful act” .
The statement said, “We must be clear that, in line with the vision and life’s work of Punyashlok Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, the Khasgi Trust and Holkar Family wholeheartedly support well-planned and sensitive development of facilities for people to worship. We commend the Prime Minister and (Uttar Pradesh) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s vision for such development.” The private trust requested PM Modi and Adityanath to order a thorough investigation into the alleged negligent damage to the statues of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar at the Manikarnika Ghat.
The relevant authorities must be directed to coordinate with the private trust to restore the statues to their appropriate locations, said the statement.
According to Madhya Pradesh government officials, the trust was formed after independence to maintain the charitable properties of former Holkar rulers of Indore.
The trust’s valuable properties spread across the country include temples, dharamshalas (buildings devoted to religious or charitable purposes), ghats, canopies, gardens and ponds, among others. PTI HWP MAS RSY
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