Ranchi: The Gibraltar Maintenance Trust has moved the high court to stop National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) from destroying its private and "heritage" structure, Gibraltar House, during construction of a bypass for NH-33.
Last week, NHAI's contracted company, Ramky Infrastructure Limited, engaged its earthmovers and heavy machinery to prepare ground for the road in Hazaribag facing the scenic Canary Hills. The bypass will cross the Canary foothills and divert the load of highway traffic from the main thoroughfares of Haribagh town.
During the process, it damaged the hillock on which the heritage structure stood. Several trees, which are centuries old have also come under the axe because of the construction work, Gibraltar's chief trustee Debal Mallick said.
"The heritage structure was constructed by my grandfather Justice SC Mallick, Indian Civil Service (ICS) and judge of Calcutta High Court in 1913 and till date we have been preserving this building as it has heritage value for the district and the state as well," Mallick said.
He said the petition filed in the court in March this year sought a direction to the NHAI to spare the property and the hillock to preserve the natural surroundings of the century-old building.
The petitioner's counsel had also argued in court that the road work would also damage the nearby Houlton Park, constructed by the last British collector of Hazaribag, Sir John Houlton.
Convener of the Indian National Trust for Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Hazaribag chapter, Bulu Imam, has also been campaigning for preservation of the building and its natural surroundings. He has written to the Prime Minister's Office seeking its intervention so that the structure could be protected.
Imam said Houlton in his book titled — Bihar the heart of India —explicitly described the beauty of the place and had constructed a park to form a miniature national park and conserve the ecology. He argued that the road can be realigned so as to spare the natural landscape which also includes an elephant megalith dating back to around 3,000 BC.
Hazaribag deputy commissioner Ravi Shukla, however, said the district administration was ready to protect the building but a part of the compound has to be compromised.
"We are not touching the building but a part of the boundary is coming under the project," he said. Shukla added that since there was no stay from court, the authorities have the legal power to go ahead with the project.
District land acquisition officer Shabbir Ahmed also said the authorities were ready to hold talks with the Mallicks to sort out the issue.
"On their request, NHAI had once changed alignment of the road and spared the building which was otherwise coming in the way of the bypass," he said.
The project's director, Devendra Gupta, said, "It is an old case of 2010 and they have moved the court. Still, we are open to talks but till then, we are constructing the road as per rules."
Meanwhile, Mallick believes that realignment of the road, shifting it by around 80 mts from the building, can save the hillock and it would not be cumbersome for the NHAI. "If they shift it slightly, it would fall on a plane land and will be off our plot. We have no objection to the highway project but the sentiments attached to the building can be protected by a little adjustment," he said.
Mallick recollected that several noted Bengali movies had also been shot in the building. "The 1961 movie, Agnisanskar, starring Uttam Kumar and Supriya Choudhary and the 1976 movie, Asomoy, starring Aparna Sen and Deepankar Dey were shot here," he said.
The British had named Canary hill, Gibraltar of India because of its resemblance to the rock at Gibraltar and the building was named after it.
Last week, NHAI's contracted company, Ramky Infrastructure Limited, engaged its earthmovers and heavy machinery to prepare ground for the road in Hazaribag facing the scenic Canary Hills. The bypass will cross the Canary foothills and divert the load of highway traffic from the main thoroughfares of Haribagh town.
During the process, it damaged the hillock on which the heritage structure stood. Several trees, which are centuries old have also come under the axe because of the construction work, Gibraltar's chief trustee Debal Mallick said.
"The heritage structure was constructed by my grandfather Justice SC Mallick, Indian Civil Service (ICS) and judge of Calcutta High Court in 1913 and till date we have been preserving this building as it has heritage value for the district and the state as well," Mallick said.
He said the petition filed in the court in March this year sought a direction to the NHAI to spare the property and the hillock to preserve the natural surroundings of the century-old building.
The petitioner's counsel had also argued in court that the road work would also damage the nearby Houlton Park, constructed by the last British collector of Hazaribag, Sir John Houlton.
Convener of the Indian National Trust for Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Hazaribag chapter, Bulu Imam, has also been campaigning for preservation of the building and its natural surroundings. He has written to the Prime Minister's Office seeking its intervention so that the structure could be protected.
Imam said Houlton in his book titled — Bihar the heart of India —explicitly described the beauty of the place and had constructed a park to form a miniature national park and conserve the ecology. He argued that the road can be realigned so as to spare the natural landscape which also includes an elephant megalith dating back to around 3,000 BC.
Hazaribag deputy commissioner Ravi Shukla, however, said the district administration was ready to protect the building but a part of the compound has to be compromised.
"We are not touching the building but a part of the boundary is coming under the project," he said. Shukla added that since there was no stay from court, the authorities have the legal power to go ahead with the project.
District land acquisition officer Shabbir Ahmed also said the authorities were ready to hold talks with the Mallicks to sort out the issue.
"On their request, NHAI had once changed alignment of the road and spared the building which was otherwise coming in the way of the bypass," he said.
The project's director, Devendra Gupta, said, "It is an old case of 2010 and they have moved the court. Still, we are open to talks but till then, we are constructing the road as per rules."
Meanwhile, Mallick believes that realignment of the road, shifting it by around 80 mts from the building, can save the hillock and it would not be cumbersome for the NHAI. "If they shift it slightly, it would fall on a plane land and will be off our plot. We have no objection to the highway project but the sentiments attached to the building can be protected by a little adjustment," he said.
Mallick recollected that several noted Bengali movies had also been shot in the building. "The 1961 movie, Agnisanskar, starring Uttam Kumar and Supriya Choudhary and the 1976 movie, Asomoy, starring Aparna Sen and Deepankar Dey were shot here," he said.
The British had named Canary hill, Gibraltar of India because of its resemblance to the rock at Gibraltar and the building was named after it.
Get latest news & live updates on the go on your pc with News App. Download The Times of India news app for your device.
