CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Government has decided to restore the vandalised bust of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the statue of Swami Vivekananda in Shillong, with the Art and Culture Department set to bear the entire cost of restoration, Nongthymmai legislator and Meghalaya Trinamool Congress president Charles Pyngrope said. The assurance comes amid widespread condemnation of the vandalism during the recent violence in Shillong and growing demands for accountability against those responsible.
Pyngrope said the State Government had already held a meeting on the issue and that the Art and Culture Department would undertake the restoration of both monuments. He also said he was in constant touch with members of the R&R Colony society and that the situation was now moving smoothly.
"Meghalaya Government already had a meeting and the Art and Culture Department is going to do the entire restoration of both the statues at the expense of the Art and Culture Department. I am constantly in touch with the society of R&R Colony and everything is moving smoothly now," the TMC Meghalaya chief said.
Condemning the incident, Pyngrope said the vandalism of the bust of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the statue of Swami Vivekananda must be unequivocally denounced. He also said the circumstances that led to the violence needed to be examined, particularly the charter of demands submitted by the Khasi Students' Union to the State Government.
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