Patna DM’S office building shown in ‘Gandhi’ razed
HERITAGE LOVERS of the city had earlier appealed to the authorities to rescue its historical artefacts, such as the old safety vaults, clocks and furniture, and hanging skylights.
Patna, June 29: Historic British-era Patna District Magistrate’s office building, part of the centuriesold Collectorate campus, which was featured in key scenes in Oscar-winning film Gandhi has been demolished, sending a wave of grief among heritage lovers and Gandhians.
Bulldozers gnawed at the elegant two-storey main Patna Collectorate building, situated on the banks of the river Ganga, a couple of days ago, reducing it to a skeletal state.
The building was felled as part of the redevelopment project of the Bihar government.
On Wednesday, labourers carried away bricks from the mountains of rubble that lay deposited next to what remained of the old building, which once was the seat of the district administration and was said to have been constructed in the early 20th century.
The building was also adorned with an ornate iron-made spiral staircase mounted on its western facade.
Heritage lovers of the city had earlier appealed to the authorities to rescue its historical artefacts, such as the old safety vaults, clocks and furniture, hanging skylights, the spiral staircase, a vintage steamroller, and a very old printing machine, as buildings on the Collectorate campus were announced to undergo a phase-wise demolition.
“Demolition started on the same day (June 24) the Ganga Drive was inaugurated, and I could hear the grunt of bulldozers knocking it down late night too. It was a strong building of the British era,” said a local resident, who lives near the Collectorate Ghat, on the condition of anonymity.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had on Friday dedicated to the public the first phase of `3,831-crore expressway along the Ganges — ‘J P Ganga Path’ — which has been dubbed as ‘Patna's Marine Drive.’
The 20-km elevated roadway passes from the front of the Collectorate Ghat, and would eventually connect Digha to Didarganj.
On May 13 this year, Supreme Court had rejected a plea by heritage body INTACH, which had been fighting a legal battle since 2019 to save the landmark from demolition, paving the way for the razing of the Patna Collectorate complex.
The demolition started the very next day, and 1938-built District Board Patna building was the first to receive the blows of the bulldozers.
The structure, endowed with ancient-looking pilaster Corinthian columns in its iconic Meeting Hall, was pulled down by May 17, as was the centuries-old Land Acquisition Office building in the sprawling 12acre complex.