Mahakumbh Nagar, 30 December (IANS). Mahakumbh is a religious and cultural festival of the Sanatani tradition of India. The Yogi government of the state, which is engaged in giving a divine and grand form to this great festival which is going to be organized in Prayagraj in January 2025, is also preserving the cultural heritage of the Kumbh city while preserving its traditions.
Apart from having a religious identity, the name of Prayagraj city is also associated with many historical and cultural heritages. Under this comes the building situated in the Municipal Corporation premises, the restoration work of which is being done by Prayagraj Municipal Corporation. The oldest ‘Great Northern’ hotel built in Sangam city around 1865 during the British era and later converted into the Municipal Corporation office, this more than 150 years old building is being renovated at a cost of Rs 9 crore. After the rejuvenation, the residents of Prayagraj and the tourists coming to Mahakumbh will also be able to see this historical building.
Municipal Commissioner Chandra Mohan Garg says that this building is the heritage of Prayagraj, the Municipal Corporation has taken the initiative to preserve it. The renovation work of this building will be completed before Mahakumbh. This building will attract tourists in its new color. In this historical building, before independence, meetings of the intellectual society which took part in the independence of the country were held. In the 1930s, the British government converted this building into an administrative building. Suraj VS, advisor of the Civil Engineering Department of Prayagraj Municipal Corporation, said that in December 2020, the roof of a room in the Municipal Corporation building had collapsed, after which it was considered to demolish the entire building and build a new building. Before demolishing the building which is more than one hundred and fifty years old, opinion was taken from the Archaeological Department. ASI, MNIT Prayagraj and IIT Mumbai were consulted regarding this building. After the ASI report came in 2020-21, this Municipal Corporation building was declared a heritage building and advised to conserve it.
This building was constructed 150 years ago with eco-friendly materials, so now it is being rejuvenated with the same materials. All the new things that were installed in this building during the earlier renovation, like cement plaster, floor tiles, windows and doors, are now being removed, so that the building can be brought back to its original form. This will keep the temperature of the building naturally cool and air conditioners will be used less even in summer. This method is also environment friendly, because natural materials are being used in it. Mumbai’s Savani Heritage is undergoing restoration work, which is expected to be completed by the end of December. After this, ‘fox lighting’ will also be installed in this building. Tourists coming to Mahakumbh will see this historical building in a new color.
Jitesh Patel of Savani Heritage said that this old Municipal Corporation building is being renovated with the materials used in construction work in olden times. Lime for construction material is being procured from Katni in Madhya Pradesh and other things are being procured from different states and local markets. Instead of cement sand, construction material is being prepared from a mixture of lime, surkhi, sand, bel giri, jaggery, urad dal, guggul and fenugreek. The interesting thing about this building is that at one time Prayagraj Museum used to be in this building. Evidence related to the museum is still present in this building.
–IANS
SK/CBT
