Six 'Saptarishi' idols collapse at Ujjain's Mahakal Lok corridor in MP due to strong winds

Heavy rains and thunderstorms in several cities of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday night resulted in loss of property in many areas. Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar temple was also not spared with six out of the seven idols of 'Saptarishis' installed at the Mahakal Lok corridor at the temple collapsed due to the gusty winds. However, no one was injured despite the presence of a large number of visitors, according to the officials. 

'Saptarishi' idols collapse at Ujjain's Mahakal Lok corridor

Following the incident, the temple premises were shut for a few hours. The District Magistrate (DM) of Ujjain, Kumar Purushottam, informed that there was a very strong storm, due to which some idols of Saptarishis fell down. The work to fix them is underway and everything will be fixed within two days, assured Purushottam.

Another official said, "The corridor is spread across around one km. When the idols collapsed due to the gusty winds, the premises were packed with visitors, but nobody was injured in the incident".

The first phase of the Mahakal Lok Corridor project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2022.  The Mahakaleshwar temple worth Rs 856 crore is one of the 12 'jyotirlingas' in the country as the first phase worth Rs 351 crore has been opened for the devotees while the second phase will be completed in 2023-24. There are 108 Shiva pillars with different postures that depict the Anand Tandav Swaroop (Dance form) of Lord Shiva.

Congress accused BJP of corruption 

Congress lashed out at CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government as it accused it os corruption in the project. Taking to Twitter, former MP CM and Congress leader Kamal Nath demanded a probe into the "sub-standard" quality of construction and asked for the immediate restoration of the idols. 

Kamal Nath said, "When the then Congress government of Madhya Pradesh took a pledge to make a grand construction of the Mahakal temple complex in Ujjain, it did not imagine that the subsequent government would commit serious irregularities in the construction of Mahakal Lok. Today, the way the deity idols fell on the ground due to the storm in the Mahakal Lok complex, that scene is a very pathetic scene for any religious person".

He further said, "I demand from the Chief Minister that the idols which have fallen in Mahakal Lok, new idols should be installed immediately and those who make shoddy constructions should be punished after investigation".