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A 70-ft.-high statue of Argentinian shot fable Lionel Messi, installed by the erstwhile Trinamool Congress authorities successful 2025 successful Kolkata’s Lake Town area, was connected Monday (June 1, 2026) removed by the State’s Public Works Department (PWD).
The determination by the recently elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) authorities came aft section residents expressed concerns implicit information arsenic the statue was seen swaying successful the wind. PWD officials person been regularly inspecting the venue, which is adjacent to Eastern Metropolitan bypass, implicit the past fewer days, and had tied ropes to forestall the statue from falling.
The removal of the statue comes days aft the West Bengal authorities connected May 23 took down different football-themed sculpture designed by erstwhile Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and installed extracurricular the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan stadium successful the Salt Lake area.
The Messi statue was recovered to beryllium structurally unstable aft a caller tempest successful the city, officials said. The authorities dismantled it from its pedestal connected Monday, and loaded onto a motortruck utilizing a hydraulic crane, without immoderate damage. The statue would present stay successful the PWD’s custody, they added, till a determination was taken connected whether it should beryllium re-installed.
The statue was unveiled by Mr. Messi himself connected December 13, 2025 during his sojourn successful the metropolis arsenic portion of the G.O.A.T India promotional tour. Former Trinamool Congress Minister Sujit Bose conceived the thought and unveiled the statue. Mr. Bose, who mislaid successful the precocious concluded Assembly election, was arrested a fewer days agone for his alleged relation successful the municipal recruitment scam.
A large contention had erupted implicit Mr. Messi’s sojourn to Kolkata aft unit erupted successful the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Stadium successful Salt Lake arsenic spectators were upset implicit his little nationalist appearance. The shot legend, on with his colleagues Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, entered the stadium astatine astir 11.30 a.m., erstwhile a radical of 70 to 80 people, including the past Sports Minister Aroop Biswas, and immoderate legislators, movie actors, and representatives of section shot clubs, surrounded him for autographs and photos. As a result, the gathered spectators were incapable to spot the celebrities from the galleries, which enraged them. Mr. Messi was taken retired by 11.52 a.m.
The incidental caused important embarrassment to the Trinamool Congress government, and the constabulary arrested the organiser, Shatadru Dutta.
With the alteration successful the authorities successful the State, questions are being raised implicit the relation of the past Sports Minister. Mr. Dutta lodged a First Information Report against Mr. Biswas connected Sunday (May 31, 2026) astatine the Bidhannagar South constabulary station, alleging that implicit 22,000 tickets had been forcefully taken from the organisers and sold successful the achromatic marketplace by the erstwhile Minister and his agents.
