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| Queen Victoria Pavilion.picxy.com |
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| .Queen Victoria Pavilionresearchgate.net/ |
The above image: The Queen Victoria Pavilion situated on the crossroads near the Old Registrar's office and opposite the old State Bank building in Old Town of Vizag, has Indo-Saracenic style of design. The structure made of ashlar stone masonry ( a rare one in Vizag) with dressed stones is equilateral in plan and cuboidal in shape, On an elevated plinth it is accessible through a flight of steps. The walls have pointed arches with a hemispherical ribbed dome surrounded by a parapet wall and miniature octagonal corner minarets.A finale adorned with a Greek cross is atop the dome . These architectural elements show the influence of Indo-Islamic styles.........
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| Vizag queen Victoria pavilion source:Sohan hattangadi |
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| statue of queen Victoria, Vizag. The News Minute |
After the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901, committees were set up all over India, like other British Dominions, to raise statues of the Queen. In India, 50 such statues were raised in memory of Queen Victoria. Many of them were made by the famous sculptor Sir Thomas Brock, (March 1847 - August 1922)a celebrated sculptor. His most famous work is the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, London.
Across coastal Andhra very few people know the presence of the statue of queen Victoria in a public place in Visakhapatnam, After independence -post 1960 countless colonial statues in public places were shifte the museums nearby because of increasing vandalism and damage to the statues. As for the Queen Victoria statue in Vizag In 1900, Raja G.V. Jugga Rao, the Zamindar of Shermuhammadpuram and Raja Ankitam Venkata Jagga Rao of Yambrum Estates on their return from England the British Government presented them with a bronze statue of Queen Victoria to be presented to the city of Visakhapatnam and to be installed in the one town area. The statue was erected at this site on May 4, 1904 by RC Campbell, collector and governor's agent at Vizag.
The statue is at the center of a small hemispherical pavilion Considering the queen's stature and her long reign as a woman monarch of an empire, the small space crunched pavilion is not in commensurate with her powerful position and exalted status.
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| Vizag, AP The Queen Victoria pavilion ovizag.com |
Though given a facelift and repaired in 2016 the Victoria pavilion, a legacy of the colonial era has been in a state of neglect. Way back in 2016 facelift was given by sand blasting the thick layer of dust deposited on the statue. Being close to the harbor, air pollution is high so is the coal dust from the harbor. The bronze statue was invariably black in color due to coal dust and poor upkeep. The iconic statue is losing its heritage value as the surrounding area is not clean and tidy. Weeds are growing from spaces in between and as the wild growth is not cleared the statue is hardly visible from outside the road side. The pity is not even 2 years had gone by, the pavilion became shabby and dirty as in the past..
According to Sohan Hatangadi and Jayashree Hatangadi,heritage lovers the bronze statue leans dangerously toward one side and may fall over in time.There's a 20 degree tilt to the left and some bolts from the base have come off. Unless, the position of the statue is corrected, the colonial statue may fall from the pedestal that may cause damages.
As for the surrounding area the encroachments need to be removed so that people can access such old monuments comfortably. A little intervention from the ASI or state heritage department would solve the issue ; till such a time heritage lovers have to keep their fingers crossed.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Town-Hall-steeped-in-history/articleshow/48460999.cms
https://www.navrangindia.in/2017/11/victoria-town-hall-visakhapatnam-andhra.html
