300-year-old Dutch-era Patna Collectorate record room building demolished after SC nod

Patna: Bulldozers on Tuesday razed to the ground almost the entire Dutch-era Record Room Building of the Patna Collectorate, erasing a city landmark that had stood as a signpost of history for over 300 years.

The move came days after the Supreme Court paved the way for the demolition of the Patna Collectorate complex, triggering grief among heritage lovers.

The building, a remnant of the 17th century which was built by the Dutch East India Company and spanned on a north-south axis on the banks of Ganga, was considered one of the oldest living heritage of Patna, and predated the iconic Golghar built in 1786.

As bulldozers pounded and reduced to rubble the historic landmark, only a shell of the once-mighty edifice was left standing by late evening. A very small portion on the frontage has been spared so far, as the Record Room office is still occupying it.

Photographs of the demolition shared on social media triggered shock among people and heritage lovers who had fought for nearly six years to save the historic Patna Collectorate. The Record Room’s facade is endowed with magnificent Tuscan pillars. It had high ceilings, huge doors, and old-style skylights.

Some of the key scenes of the Oscar award-winning film ‘Gandhi’ were shot at Patna Collectorate in the 1980s, including the Record Room.

Old district engineer’s office in the 12-acre sprawling complex was also built in the Dutch era. Bulldozers on Saturday had knocked down front columns of the British-era district board building at the Patna Collectorate, a day after the Supreme Court had paved the way for its demolition.

Images of bulldozers clawing down the front portion of the iconic building, which has a majestic meeting hall, endowed with pilaster Corinthian columns, were widely shared on social media by history aficionados, art historians, architects, among others and Delhi-based Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which was fighting a legal battle since 2019 to save the collectorate.

On Tuesday, the 1938-built building, too, was reduced to a shell as bulldozers clawed down what was left of the once beautiful structure.

The state government had in 2016 proposed to demolish the old Patna collectorate for a new high-rise complex, triggering public outcry and appeals from various quarters.

The complex, parts of which are over 250 years old, is situated on the banks of the Ganga. The British-era structures in its complex include the district magistrate office building and district board building.

During the hearing on Friday, the apex court said that not every building of the colonial-era needs to be preserved and dismissed an appeal filed by INTACH.

A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant said that had it been a building that housed freedom fighters, it would have been a heritage building, but it was used by the Dutch to store opium and saltpetre.

Soon after the proposal, the public movement ‘Save Historic Patna Collectorate’ led by citizens from various walks of life was launched. It has members from Patna, various other cities and from several foreign countries, including the US, UK, Italy, Canada and Bangladesh.

In the past few days, social media page of the movement has been flooded with posts expressing grief over the tragic fate of the landmark.

On Facebook, many users shared images of the old collectorate and wrote captions with wishful messages, “It should have been preserved by authorities” and “restoration and not demolition is the way forward”. Appearing for INTACH in the hearing, advocate Roshan Santhalia on Friday had said that the building was not so unsafe as was projected by the state government and it needed to be protected.

In 2016, the then Dutch ambassador, Alphonsus Stoelinga, had written to the Bihar chief minister, appealing to preserve this “shared heritage” of the two countries and have it listed under the Bihar state archaeology department.

Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .