Indian Express: Gond Palace stands on shaky pillars

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Gond Palace stands on shaky pillars

ABHIJIT SATHE & SRAVANI SARKAR

NAGPUR, AUG 25: Speculation is rife over the possibility of one of Nagpur's most artistic and ancient monuments of historical importance being sold off to a private party. The deal to sell the palace of Gond Kings in Mahal area threatens its very existence, according to reliable sources.

The two-century-old palace, now in a dilapidated condition, which houses the Pakwasa Samanvaya Rugnalaya of the Ayurvedic College and Hospital for over five decades, deserves to top the heritage list being prepared by the local Heritage Committee. More importantly, it is one of the relics of the history of Gond Kings and their association with the city.

Sources claim that Virendra Shah, a descendant of the Gond dynasty has already finalised the sale of the palace to a private party in Mumbai and that the structure will be pulled down in a day or two.

To add to the woes, is the bureaucratic hurdles causing an inordinate delay in publishing the city's heritage list and formulation of a regulation by the Heritage Committee -- which is aimed at preserving the city's monuments of historical importance. In the absence of any such regulation, the palace continues to be a private property of the Gond descendants, who are at liberty to make any deals regarding it.

The palace has 80 wooden pillars, intricately carved out of `single pieces' of sundari wood (no pillar has any joints). Though the structure is in a dilapidated condition, which requires continuous maintenance, it still maintains its grandeur and attracts several historians and antique dealers. Historians claim it to be the city's oldest standing monument and the best of structures built by the Gond kings.

``Pulling down the structure will mean erasing a part of the city's history,'' a historian remarks. The palace would not have faced `imminent death', had the Heritage Committee began acting and formulated a regulation on the lines of Bombay Heritage Regulation, soon after the State Government issued directives to local authorities in July 1995 over the matter. The Gond Killa, as the palace is commonly known, figures in the heritage list (of the Indian Heritage Society) issued by the State Government.

The Heritage Committee, which was set up following a litigation by the Vidarbha Heritage Society (VHS), a voluntary organisation, however remained a non-starter and failed to come up with a city heritage list. The process was initiated only recently, but the list is yet to be published. The palace also merits the numero uno position in the list of heritages prepared earlier by the VHS.

Virendra Shah, however, strongly denies that he is out to sell the palace. Speaking to The Indian Express, Shah said that although it is very difficult to maintain the palace, status quo will be maintained. Presently, the palace is being jointly maintained by the Shah family and the management of Ayurvedic College.

Shah, however, completely ruled out the possibility of handing over the property to the government. He claimed that government only takes over the property without paying any consideration for its maintenance. He admitted that it is very difficult for the family to maintain the historical structure and that he has visited the palace only once or twice. (He presently resides in a separate house behind it). Conservationists in the city have cast their apprehensions over the possibility of the city losing an important part of its history.

Net Express

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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.

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