Buildings of Patna College, PU should be restored with proper electric wiring system: Historians, architects after fire incident

Patna: Days after a fire broke out in a section of the centuries-old Patna College building, many historians, scholars, conservation architects, and alumni members have pitched for proper restoration of the historic landmark and other old institutional structures, with a focus on both civil and electrical wiring works.

Several of them also lamented that heritage buildings in Patna were either gradually disappearing owing to demolition or "suffering decay and neglect" due to a lack of timely upkeep.

A fire had broken out in the West Wing of the Administrative Block of the 160-year-old Patna College on March 28 in which a room on the ground floor housing about 25 desktop computers, a number of books, and documents, among others, was gutted.

"The fire is suspected to have been caused by a short circuit and later curtains caught the flames and it spread to an adjacent room too. The room where the fire broke out houses the BCA course wing. Old doors have got partially burnt and wooden beams in the ceiling which are very old, also seem to have suffered damage. Property worth Rs 30-35 lakh have been reduced to ashes," Patna College principal Tarun Kumar told PTI.

Patna College's Administrative Block is housed in an iconic Dutch-era structure of the 17th century, and two flanks -- West Wing and East Wing -- were added subsequently during the British period in the later half of the 19th century.

The historic college was set up in 1863 and on January 9 this year, it turned 160.

"So much timbre has been used in the construction of the main college building, including its grand staircase. God forbid, if someone had not noticed the billowing smoke, it could have caused so much more destruction and loss of precious heritage," said R B P Singh, former vice chancellor of the Patna University which administers the college.

He and several other retired professors, and many alumni members and students alleged that the Administrative Block of the college "does not have a proper electrical wiring system" and "neither a proper fire management system".

Patna College is a "priceless heritage", both academically and architecturally, and it should be the bounden duty of both the university adminstration and society at large to "ensure proper upkeep and maintenance of such beautiful institutional buildings for the current and future generations".

Singh, who was the principal of the Patna College when it had turned 150 in 2013, said all old buildings dotting the campus of the college, including the hostels, libraries, common rooms, official bungalows, and the buildings in the Patna University campus, including the Wheeler Senate House, and old buildings of other institutions falling under the university, should be appropriately restored.

Bharati Kumar, former head of the PU's History Department, lamented that heritage buildings in Patna are either being demolished in the name of development or not properly maintained out of "institutional neglect".

"Patna Collectorate was a cluster of Dutch and British-era buildings, and instead of preserving and celebrating it, they razed all the structures. And, Patna College's main building also has a Dutch past. The central part dates from the 17th century and it was used as a godown for opium and saltpetre by the Dutch traders. Patna College began its journey from this historic building, which is also an extraordinary beautiful structure," she said.

The Dutch-era building of the college also houses the office of the college's principal, and is endowed with prized murals. History department is located on the first floor and mathematics department on the ground floor of the West Wing, while economics and philosophy departments in the East Wing. "I see demolition of the old to build anything new, as whimsical steps by those in power in a bid to take credit, instead of taking steps to preserve our rich built heritage. Patna College, B N College, Darbhanga House (houses PU's PG departments), university buildings, PU Library, Wheeler Senate House and many other such institutional buildings should be preserved and restored to bring back their glory," Kumar said.

Patna College was once famed as the 'Oxford of the East', and on its 160th anniversary, several scholars, students and alumni of the institution had lamented the demolition of its old entrance gate and boundary walls, along with boundary walls of other institutional campuses near it, to make room for a double-decker flyover project on the historic Ashok Rajpath.

Mumbai-based conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah, who has worked on the restoration of the Convocation Hall and the VC Office, and some of the other buildings of the historic Bombay University (now Mumbai University), said, "Institutional buildings are our intellectual and architectural legacy, and we must proudly preserve them, and it will be foolish if these structures are not looked after.” "When we we were working on the Mumbai University project, we laid focus on both structural repair as well as electrical wire management system. Many heritage buildings have suffered varying degrees of damage often due to fire caused by a short circuit. And, old buildings like Patna College, need both structural restoration and proper electrical wiring system, under the supervision of experts," Lambah told PTI.

The conservation architect, who has also worked on restoration projects at Elphinstone College and SNDT Women's University, said “past has to be respected while building a future".

"And, if new structures are to be added in a heritage institution campus, they should not be erected at the cost of the old ones. And, if at all new building are to be built, they should be context-sensitive architecturally, and not overshadow the existing heritage fabric," she said.

Patna University authorities had unveiled new structural designs of the proposed high-rise administrative and academic blocks of the varsity during an event on October 1 last year to mark its 106th foundation day in Patna.

The move has upset many scholars, historians and alumni members, some of whom have suggested to build the new structures in its Saidpur campus, and preserve the heritage fabric and green cover of the old campus.