Future of Kolkata's Prestigious Heritages

The city of joy Kolkata is widely famous for its stunning colonial architecture, art galleries, and for upholding different cultural festivals. Kolkata is successful in restoring the prestigious heritage to a certain extent. But a lot of spectacular old buildings are still screaming for renovation.

The dilapidated structures of the old buildings like Basu Bati in the Baghbazar street, the old Jorabagan Police Station in Sovabazar, and Mullick’s ancestral house in North Kolkata highlight that Kolkata is slowly losing its elegance. The most honourable building is the Writer’s building in B.B.D.Bagh, Kolkata is neglected in the field of renovation. According to sources, the restoration process is somewhere stuck in the indecisiveness of the government. The buildings in the locality of Matiaburj, the southwestern part of Kolkata need to be restored as they have huge historical values. On the other hand, the multi-storage buildings of Kolkata are widely utilized with the idea of rehabilitation.

CRITICAL STEP OF KOLKATA MUNICIPAL CORPORATION 

Lack of proper maintenance over years made the buildings fragile. An accident can occur at any time and turn the buildings into rubble. Thus, Kolkata Municipal Corporation moved forward and judiciously decided to donate to Calcutta University. The list mainly includes the old buildings of Basu Bati in the Baghbazar street, the old Jorabagan Police Station in Sovabazar, and Mullick’s ancestral house.

THE BASU BATI IN THE BAGHBAZAR STREET 

The massive mansion is proudly standing at the end of the narrow lane of Baghbazar street. As the stories reveal that in 1874, Mahendra Lal inherited the title of ‘zamindar’ of Gaya. He used his income to buy a huge plot in Bagbazar and the construction of ‘Basu Bati’ started.

The stunning palace is not only a collection of expensive paintings but also showcases the unique architecture which is highly influenced by both Hindu and Islamic styles. The collection of paintings ranges from Tanjore style to Kalighat Pat style.

Basu Bati started to decline post-Independence. As per sources, Ananthnath Basu, the owner of the mansion during the 1950s, sold half of the mansion to repay the debt. Therefore, the mansion was split in 1956. The Government of West Bengal bought a huge portion of the mansion in that same year.

Ownership was passed to Ambuja Royalty in 2007 and the idea of reconstructing as a heritage hotel was about to start but the plan failed as most of the mansion was owned by the Government. Bengal's historical mansion was slowly hiding behind the shrubs as it was highly neglected. 

Even after the ownership was transferred to Calcutta University, nothing has changed. It is still left abandoned and neglected as it was.

OLD  JORABAGAN  POLICE STATION IN SOVABAZAR

Jorabagan police station was initially a college named “Duff college” which was set by Alexander Duff around 1930. A lot of people along with the 27 generation residents of the building were unaware of this fact.

The building has huge political and historical importance. Sir Charles Tegart, commissioner of police, had set up the Jorabagan Police station by transforming a part of the huge building into the police station. Another part of the building was treated as a torturing chamber as the revolutionaries who were often addressed as “terrorists” were tortured during interrogation.

The building is highly devastated and has not been repaired for more than five decades.

Senior civic officials said that proper steps should be taken to renovate the building. He also added that it is becoming a dangerous place day by day. The safety of the adjacent residents is at stake.  The building is densely covered with parasitic plants.

MULLICK’S ANCESTRAL HOUSE 

This house has played a vital role in the Swadeshi Movement. Subodh Mallick with other honourable people had set up the National Council of Education. The house welcomed a lot of well-known and prestigious people like Rabindranath Tagore and Sri Aurobindo. It was constructed around 1833-1834. Calcutta University took over the house on 5th August 1990 when Dr. Bhaskar Rai Chaudhury was the Vice-Chancellor. 

Kunal Vasu Mallik, who was associated with the house, said that Calcutta University has not renovated the house in years. He further added that it was donated for the advancement of learning but the building is left to collapse.

WRITER’S BUILDING IS THE VICTIM OF SERIOUS CARELESSNESS AND IRRESPONSIBILITY 

The writer’s building is the official secretariat building of the government of West Bengal.  

Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal wanted to shift the secretariat to the Nabanna in Howrah on 6th October 2013. Thus, the official restoration of the 238 years old building started in 2013 which headed to uncertainty. 

The work involved an internal political dispute as other professors of Jadavpur University complained as Madhumita Roy of Jadavpur University’s architecture department joined Amity University. Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal wanted to shift the secretariat to the Nabanna in Howrah on 6th October 2013. Thus, the official restoration of the 238 years old building started.

Later, there were many arguments between the PWD’s architects and the secretary. Moreover, 70 lakh rupees were issued for the renovation process. The renovation is not complete yet. 

A staff member said that many rooms are devastated along with the shattered files. He also said they were not well informed about the replacement.

IN THE WORDS OF GM KAPUR

GM Kapur, the governing council member and convenor of the West Bengal chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) shared the most important information related to the heritage building of Kolkata. He explained that buildings are divided into Grade I AND Grade I. The buildings under grade I cannot be demolished but the buildings under Grade II can be demolished going through some legal processes. Even buildings were tagged to grade II too secretly and unethically. INTACH was successful in saving buildings like Roxy Cinema from demolition.

The owners always complain about how expensive it is to maintain the huge buildings being unaware of the Transfer of Development Right. Buildings can be financially supported if the owner agrees not to break them.