Kota : Three officials have been suspended after Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat raised objections over the demolition of the chhatri of the 600-year-old memorial of Bundi King Rao Surajmal in a village for the proposed airport in Kota. This information was given in a government order on Sunday. According to the order, a three-member committee has been formed to investigate the matter. Angry with this demolition, the Bundi royal family and local people have called for a protest on Monday. Shekhawat said in a post on ‘X’ about this incident, “The demolition of the chhatri of Bundi King Rao Surajmal Hada is a sad and disturbing incident. Did KDA (Kota Development Authority) do this act despite knowing the historical importance of the chhatri? Investigation and appropriate action are necessary in this regard. “
The minister said that public sentiments should be given utmost importance. The memorial was built in honour of Rao Surajmal, the ninth ruler of the erstwhile Bundi princely state. The memorial is located in Tulsi village in neighbouring Bundi district. It was demolished by the Kota Development Authority on Saturday. Meanwhile, Bundi MLA Harimohan Sharma, Vanshvardhan Singh of the Bundi royal family and members of the Karni Sena and Rajput community visited the memorial site on Sunday and condemned the KDA’s action. Kota Collector Ravindra Goswami, who is also the chairman of the KDA, spoke to them over the phone. However, representatives of the Rajput community and local villagers disagreed with the arrangement and demanded that the proposed airport be named after Rao Surajmal and his statue be installed at its entrance.
Under the aegis of Karni Sena, the Rajput community has called for a protest at the Bundi district collectorate on Monday against the vandalism.
In an order issued by the KDA secretary on Saturday night, tehsildar Praveen Kumar, land records inspector Muralidhar and a patwari involved in the demolition of the historic chhatri were suspended with immediate effect for “hurting public sentiments” and “negligence” in government work. The Kota district collector issued an order to constitute a three-member inquiry committee comprising the sub-divisional officer (SDM) of Kota, a special duty officer of the authority and the tehsildar of Ladpura and directed them to submit a report on the matter. MLA Sharma said that the KDA chairman told him that the chhatri was demolished without understanding its historical and heritage importance after the instruction in a letter from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), but now he has regretted it. Vanshvardhan Singh condemned the demolition and stressed that it is a 600-year-old important monument but inscriptions and other objects of historical importance were destroyed.
