Heritage block to hospital demolition

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Feb. 15: The Malda chief medical officer of health has planned to approach the local heritage committee for the second time to furnish authentic information and documents about the old district hospital building.It may be noted that when the district health authorities planned to demolish the abandoned building at the heart of the town for the construction of a new building there, the local intellectuals and heritage committee objected to the demolition drive in mid-January.Following the objection, the Malda chief medical officer of health could not proceed to implement its plan based on the government's proposal to build a district health directorate where all health-related departments would be coming altogether.Speaking to reporters, the Malda CMOH Mr Radha Raman Banik said: “The plan for the construction of the new building has been stalled due to objection, though there is no notification from the heritage commission. If they allow us, we are agreed to construct a replica, based on its old model”.Mr Banik had written a letter to the local committee after the objection and requested them to furnish authentic information and documents to prove the building was really a heritage site and urged them to allow the plan to be implemented. The CMOH had set a 15-day deadline for submission of the valid documents.“The committee could not submit authentic information about the status of the building within the deadline. We have planned to send another letter to them seeking the same information,” Mr Banik said.“If they cannot submit authentic information we will approach the district magistrate and the sabhadhipati to finalise the matter,” he said.According to him, the government had allotted Rs. 1.89 crore for a new administrative building for the district health department.The local heritage building committee members had claimed it was a heritage monument dating back to the British era.Citing reference books, they also claimed a part of the building was used for treatment of prisoners and another part of it was used as a commercial headquarter during the rule of East India Company. It connected with the nearest building through a tunnel, which is presently used as a Circuit House (earlier known as Nil Kuthi) by the district administration.