Ambazari flood victims are left in agony as the State Government has filed an affidavit stating that a decision regarding the Swami Vivekananda statue’s removal or shifting would depend on the results of a hydraulic study commissioned from the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune. While the residents are demanding immediate shifting of the statue as it becomes an obstruction point for the smooth flow of the water of the Ambazari dam, the State Government is trying to protect the statue, alleged a resident. The Urban Development Department (UDD), filed an affidavit before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court regarding the statue on Thursday and the Court is scheduled to conduct the hearing on the Public Interest Litigation in the first week of April. The affidavit addressed concerns over the statue’s potential impact on flooding in the area. Dr K H Govinda Raj, Principal Secretary of (UDD), as per the affidavit, stressed that a decision regarding the statue’s removal or shifting would depend on the results of a hydraulic study commissioned from the CWPRS.

 

This study aims to assess whether the statue could exacerbate flooding issues in the region. “The High Power Committee has directed the Nagpur Municipal Corporation to prepare for immediate action pending the CWPRS report,” the affidavit stated. It highlighted that if the study finds no major contribution to flooding, the government might consider exempting the statue from prior resolutions that deemed it an obstruction. However, this stance has sparked strong opposition from Ambazari residents, who recalled the devastating floods of the previous year. They argue that the statue obstructs water flow and creates flood risks during monsoons. Advocate Tushar Mandlekar, representing petitioners in the High Court, criticised the government’s inclination to potentially regularise what he described as an illegal structure.