Don’t demolish heritage buildings, Dutch Govt pleads with Nitish

New Delhi, April 17

The Netherlands has appealed to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to spare the demolition of the Patna Collectorate, one of the last surviving signatures of Dutch history of Bihar’s capital, and list the centuries-old structures under the state archaeology department.

Netherland’s Ambassador to India Alphonsus Stoelinga, in a letter to Nitish, suggested adaptive re-usage of these old buildings on the banks of the Ganga.

“I came across reports about the possibility of this jointly built heritage of India and the Netherlands being demolished anytime. I sincerely believe that this built heritage depicting the Indo-Dutch history can be restored and alternative uses can be planned. I am writing this letter to appeal to you to list the complex of buildings as per the norms of the state archaeological department,” said Stoelinga.

Civil society’s plea

Highlighting the vulnerabilities of unprotected heritage buildings in the city, heritage body INTACH and members of civil society, including eminent historians, architects and former judges had on April 6 also urged the Bihar CM to spare its dismantling and restore it.

Patna Collectorate, alongside Patna College’s main administration building, and the remains of the opium godown in Gulzarbagh, comprise the last remnants of Dutch history of Patna.

The government’s move has upset experts and commoners alike and the civil society has also asked the government to “restore the collectorate to its original glory and re-use the site as a tourist attraction”.

The Ambassador cited the book ‘Patna: A Monumental History’ brought out in 2008 by the state government’s Department of Art, Culture and Youth, where the Patna Collectorate and Patna College are listed among the city’s heritage buildings.

Major trading centres

A senior official at the Dutch Embassy here said, “Bihar, especially, cities of Patna and Chhapra, have intrinsic links to the Dutch past, and the riverine trade and history of that era. Places like the Patna Collectorate could become focal points in storytelling of shared history between the two countries.

“The buildings once restored could also serve as a backdrop for celebrating the local culture of Patna and Bihar on the banks of the Ganga.That way, it will attract both foreign tourists and engage the local people with their own history,” the official said.

The Dutch came to India in early 17th century with the establishment of the Dutch East India Company which traded in various cities like Surat, Patna, Chinsurah (Bengal) and Pulicat (the Coromandel region of Tamil Nadu).

Patna was one of the major trading centres for opium and saltpetre and the Dutch built factories and godowns on the banks of Ganga as the river played a major role in trade operations until the advent of the railways in the 19th century.

Collaborative project

The Dutch Government, in the letter, also offered to NIT-Patna and the Bihar Government to work on a collaborative project on capacity-building programmes on “adaptive reusage” of heritage buildings.

“May I also take this opportunity to invite the architecture department of the National Institute of Technology, Patna, for working out a collaborative effort with my Embassy and Dutch counterparts in making a capacity-building programme in conservation and adaptive reusage of heritage buildings in collaboration with the state Department of Culture using the Dutch (era) Patna College as a reference point,” the letter said.

The Dutch Embassy official said such collaborative programmes could help widen avenues on both sides and enhance better understanding of “our shared heritage”.

The Dutch Government in 2014 had worked on a series of collaborative projects seeking to link shared history with tourism in partnership with Victoria Memorial Hall and Presidency University and West Bengal Tourism. — PTI