Days after a fire gutted a portion of the centuries-old Patna College building, several historians, scholars, conservation architects and alumni members advocated for proper restoration of the historic landmark and other old institutional structures, with a focus on both civic and Is. Electrical wiring work.
Many of them also said that heritage buildings in Patna were either slowly disappearing due to demolition or were “decaying and neglecting” due to lack of timely maintenance.
A fire broke out on March 28 in the west wing of the administrative block of the 160-year-old Patna College, in which around 25 desktop computers, several books and documents, among other things, were kept in a room on the ground floor. destroyed.
“The fire is suspected to have happened due to short circuit and later the curtain caught fire and it spread to the adjacent room as well. The room where the fire broke out is the BCA course wing. The old doors are partially burnt and the wooden beams in the ceiling, which are very old, also appear to be damaged. Property worth Rs 30-35 lakh was gutted, Tarun Kumar, Principal of Patna College, told PTI.
The administrative block of Patna College is housed in an iconic Dutch-era structure dating back to the 17th century, and the two flanks – the West Wing and the East Wing – were added later during the British period in the late 19th century.
The historic college was established in 1863 and turns 160 on January 9 this year.
“A great deal of time has gone into the construction of the main college building, including its grand staircase. God forbid, if someone had not noticed the billowing smoke, it could have caused much destruction and loss of precious heritage,” said RBP Singh, former vice-chancellor of Patna University, which administers the college.
He and several other retired professors, and several alumni members and students alleged that the administrative block of the college “does not have proper electrical wiring” and “nor a proper fire management system”.
Patna College is a “priceless heritage”, both academically and architecturally, and “it should be the bounden duty of both the university administration and society to ensure the proper upkeep and maintenance of such beautiful institutional buildings for the present and future generations”. .
Singh, who was the principal of Patna College when it turned 150 in 2013, said the college campus, including hostels, library, common rooms, official bungalows and buildings on the Patna University campus, all have old buildings. Wheeler Senate House, and the old buildings of other institutions under the University should be properly restored.
Bharati Kumar, former head of PU’s history department, said historical buildings in Patna are either being demolished in the name of development or not being maintained properly due to “institutional neglect”.
“The Patna Collectorate was a set of buildings from the Dutch and British era, and instead of preserving and celebrating it, they razed all the structures. And, the main building of Patna College also has a Dutch past. The central part dates from the 17th century and was used by Dutch merchants as a warehouse for opium and saltpeter. Patna College began its journey from this historic building, which is also an exceptionally beautiful structure.
The Dutch-era building of the college also houses the office of the principal of the college, and is endowed with priceless murals. The Department of History is located on the first floor and the Department of Mathematics is located on the ground floor of the West Wing, while the Department of Economics and Philosophy is in the East Wing. “I see the demolition of the old to build anything new as cynical moves by those in power to take credit instead of taking steps to preserve our rich built heritage. Patna College, BN College, Darbhanga House (PG Department of PU), University Building, PU Library, Wheeler Senate House and many other such institutional buildings should be preserved and restored to bring back their glory,” said Kumar.
Patna College was once famous as the ‘Oxford of the East’, and on its 160th anniversary, many scholars, students and alumni of the institution mourned the demolition of its old entrance gate and boundary wall along with other institutional campuses. had expressed Near it, to make space for the double decker flyover project on the historic Ashok Rajpath.
Mumbai-based conservation architect Abha Narayan Lamba, who has worked on the restoration of the Convocation Hall and VC office, and some other buildings of the historic Bombay University (now University of Mumbai), said, “The institutional buildings are our intellectual and architectural heritage, and we They should be proudly preserved, and it would be foolish if these structures were not taken care of. “When we were working on the Mumbai University project, we focused on both structural repairs as well as electrical wire management systems. Many historic buildings have often suffered varying degrees of damage due to fires caused by short circuits And, old buildings like Patna College need both structural restoration and proper electrical wiring under the supervision of experts,” Lamba told PTI.
The conservation architect, who has also worked on restoration projects at Elphinstone College and SNDT Women’s University, said “the past must be respected while building the future”.
“And, if new structures are to be added to a heritage institution complex, they should not be built at the expense of old ones. And, if all new buildings are to be constructed, they should be sensitive to context, not That should cover the fabric of the existing heritage,” she said.
Patna University authorities unveiled the new structural design of the proposed high-rise administrative and academic blocks of the university during an event on October 1 last year to mark its 106th Foundation Day in Patna.
The move has irked several scholars, historians and alumni members, some of whom have suggested building new structures on the Saidpur campus and preserving the heritage fabric and green cover of the old campus.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)