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A giant statue of football star Lionel Messi erected in India to celebrate his visit last year will be removed after officials raised safety concerns, a lawmaker, Sharadwat Mukherjee, said on Wednesday.
The 21-metre (70-foot) golden-coloured structure, located in the eastern city of Kolkata in West Bengal, has reportedly been swaying in strong winds, prompting engineers to flag it as unsafe.
Workers were seen securing the statue with ropes around its upper structure in an attempt to stabilise it.
The statue, which depicts Messi lifting the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup trophy, was unveiled during his “GOAT Tour” of India in December.
West Bengal state legislator Mukherjee said technical assessments had concluded that the installation posed a safety risk.
He said engineers from the state government determined that the structure was unstable, adding that movement in windy conditions had raised alarm over its safety.
“The statue of the Argentine football legend in the city of Kolkata was found unsafe by engineers of the West Bengal government,” he said.
“We have noticed that the statue is swaying in the wind.”
Mukherjee noted that efforts to take it down were ongoing, though no timeline had been confirmed.
“Removal has proved easier said than done,” he said.
“We are planning to remove the statue at the earliest opportunity.”
It was also unclear whether the statue would be relocated or reconstructed elsewhere.
India, a nation of more than 1.4 billion people, continues to show growing interest in football, which remains its second most popular sport.
