PATNA
The heritage portion of Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library (KBOPL) will not be bulldozed to pave the way for construction of a 2.20-km-long double-decker road from Kargil Chowk to National Institute of Technology (NIT) More over the congested Ashok Rajpath.
The width of the proposed road would be slightly reduced near the library to save one of its heritage structures, George Curzon reading hall, from demolition. A portion of the reading hall of KBOPL, which a repository of ancient manuscripts, books and paintings, was earlier planned to be razed for the unique double-decker road being built by the Bihar Rajya Pul Nirmal Nigam Limited (BRPNNL).
Amrit Lal Meena, additional chief secretary at the road construction department, said the BRPNNL had abandoned the plan of demolishing the part of KBOPL as of now. “However, this will have a bearing on width of the elevated road in a certain stretch,” said Meena, who is also chairman of the BRPNNL.
Officials of the KBOPL, archaeologists and members of the civil society were up in arms against the BRPNNL ever since it disclosed its plans to build the double-decker road by razing parts of heritage buildings of Patna University and KBOPL and had staged protests and organised campaign against it. They had also written letters to the governor, chief minister and the Union ministry of culture to save the heritage structure.
The reading hall of the library was named after then Viceroy of India George Curzon, who visited the library in 1905. The Central government has given library a tag of national importance and Unesco has granted it a heritage status.
{{/usCountry}}The reading hall of the library was named after then Viceroy of India George Curzon, who visited the library in 1905. The Central government has given library a tag of national importance and Unesco has granted it a heritage status.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the BRPNNL has shortlisted eight construction companies to evaluate their financial bids for the award of work.
The proposed road would have three exists for the PMCH via their multi-level parking before terminating at NIT More. Up on its termination at NIT more, the road will connect to the upcoming Ganga Path via Krishna Ghat. The project is likely to cost around ₹369 crore. The PMCH will also have a four-lane connectivity with Ganga Pathway, which is coming up on the southern bank of river Ganga.
Meena said ground work for the project would start in July, after the monsoon, and take around three years to complete.