The iconic 32-feet statue of Raja Bhoj, a defining symbol of Bhopal’s pride and heritage, has been shrouded in darkness and covered in a thick layer of dust for nearly two months. The decorative focus lights surrounding the monument, located in the middle of the Upper Lake along VIP Road, have remained defunct, causing the historic structure to fade into complete obscurity after sunset. Although the statue was thoroughly cleaned and illuminated ahead of the Global Investors Summit 2025 as part of a city beautification drive, maintenance efforts ceased immediately after the conclusion of the event, leading to its present state of neglect. A key factor preventing the repair of the defunct floodlights is the inability of technical crews to reach the offshore monument. Following a tragic cruise accident at Bargi Dam in Jabalpur, the Lake Conservation Cell of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation enforced a strict ban on all boats operating in the Upper Lake without renewed safety licenses. Consequently, maintenance workers have been unable to secure authorised water transport to cross the lake and access the statue’s platform, stalling all physical restoration work.

 

While the issue requires minimal financial expenditure, a lack of co-ordination between different departments of the municipal corporation has stalled remedial action. The statue falls under the jurisdiction of Assistant Engineer Pawan Mehra, who oversees the electrical infrastructure for the North and Southwest assembly constituencies. However, Mehra has distanced himself from the responsibility, arguing that the illumination system was originally installed under the headquarters-level Global Investors Summit 2025 project and should therefore be maintained by that specialised project wing. Addressing the administrative deadlock, Executive Engineer of the Electrical and Project Energy Audit Wing, Ashish Shrivastava, has taken a firm stance on the ongoing neglect. Shrivastava confirmed that strict instructions have been formally issued to the concerned assistant engineer to resolve the co-ordination issues immediately. He assured the public that the damaged lighting fixtures would be repaired without any further delay to restore the monument’s grand appearance.