That the demolition of the historical 12 acre Patna collectorate complex (listed in 2008 as a heritage site by the Art and Culture Department of Bihar government) on orders from the Supreme Court of India is a sad story. The SC could have saved the historical site and several colonial building in the vast campus. They were the surviving vestiges of Dutch history in this part. The Dutch came here in the 17th century. The y had trade activities in Bengal as well and in Patna they built beautiful buildings with large garden. In this respect INTACH's made a futile attempt to save the colonial structures, notwithstanding the fact that the saved and restored ever so many historical structures across India. The Patna District Collectorate complex is steeped in history. The collectorate has been functioning here since 1857 the year that saw the start of a huge rebellion against the unjust English company rule. The old structure was called Old Court Judges Building housed which later became the record room.
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| 200 plus year old .Patna collectorate, Bihar deccanherald.com |
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| Record room, Patna collectorate..siasat.com |
Above image: Patna Collectorate complex. Patna, Bihar. The facade of Dutch-era Record Room, the oldest building in the Patna Collectorate complex, (photo taken in Oct. 2020). Look at the tall large Corinthian pillars with high ceiling and large entrance doors. The colonnaded frontage in the Oscar-winning Hollywood movie Gandhi. Running on a north-south axis on the banks of the river Ganga, it is the old structure (about 200 years) in this 12 acre complex with well-planned skylight and massive doors. In the wake of The Supreme Court verdict in May 2022 in favor of the ruling govt. of Bihar state, it was pulled down to make way for a modern structure. The old valuable documents were shifted to a building in Gandhi Maidan before bulldozers moved in. They left out the huge columns so that when a new complex comes up, visitors get a chance to see the moden structure as well these strong pillars along with it. hen the work is in progress the eight Tucson pillars forming par of the colonnaded frontage will be carefully taken out and clamped together in an erect position. They will be ingeniously incorporated on the modern structure. The Record room included Revenue record room, Judicial record room. and several big rooms to store record and documents of various department. The structures once served as the Dutch-rea Opium godown, but when the British took over the control, they converted the complex into District Collectorate to run the administration. The old collectorate building complex was older than Golhar, particularly District Board building. These historical facts bear testimony to the colonial links and offer enough reasons to save them for the progeny.........................
According to the archrival records the surrender of Italy in September, 1943 to the allied forces was celebrated at patna by the people who participated in the prayers organized at various places of worship. US army General Dwight Eisenhower made the public announcement on the previous day 8th September. Another archival evidence dated 10 August 1917 during the time of WWI refers to a letter from the District Collector J.F. Grunning to one Jalan about distribution of food supply, etc to the victims of Monsoon floods.
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| .DM office, Patna, Bihar.siasat.com |
Above image: Patna Collectorate complex., Bihar: District Munsif office building. Partly demolished and further demolition stopped as account of stay on the demolition in progress. A view of the iconic Meeting Hall of British-era District Board building (photo taken in in Oct. 2020). Both the Record room and the DM building were the first ones pulled down by the officials. The building was so strong, it took awhile for them to turn them into mountains of rubble and debris. They left out the huge columns so that when a new complex comes up, visitors get a chance to see the moden structure as well these strong pillars along with it. hen the work is in progress the eight Tucson pillars forming par of the colonnaded frontage will be carefully taken out and clamped together in an erect position. They will be ingeniously incorporated on the modern structure....................
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| bar association building .siasat.com |
Above image: Patna Collectorate complex., Bihar: A view of the bar association building in the Patna Collectorate complex, in Patna, Wednesday..................................
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| Patna collectorate Meeting Hall. .siasat.com |
Above image: Patna Collectorate complex, Bihar: Front view of the iconic Meeting Hall of British-era District Board Patna building in the Patna Collectorate complex, in Patna, It is a two story structure with arched verandah on the ground floor and just ordinary veranda with opening on the first floor. The structure is on an elevated platform. The purpose of long verandah around the old colonial building was to keep the indoors cool and facilitate better airculation, Apart, it cuts down the sun's glare...............................
https://www.siasat.com/photos-patna-collectorate-iconic-living-heritage-1996393
