The statues of former Bardhaman Maharaja and his queen finally has become a legal issue today after the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court asked the East Burdwan district administration and the Burdwan Municipality to file affidavits within three weeks pertaining to a case bringing charges of causing obstruction to Curzon Gate – a heritage structure by installing the statues.
Despite criticism by a section of the town residents, two half-bust stone curved statues of Bardhaman Maharaja Bijoy Chand Mahatab and his queen Radharani were unveiled on 20 August. The statues have been placed close to the foothills of two pillars of the iconic Curzon Gate.
Curzon Gate incidentally was erected by the same Bijoy Chand with the help of Italian masonry experts in 1902-03 on the old GT Road crossing – about a km away from his royal palace. Initially, it was named as ‘Star of India’, which was rechristened as the Curzon Gate in 1904 to mark the visit of former Viceroy of India George Nathaniel Curzon to the palace. On 28 February, 2006, West Bengal Heritage Commission declared Curzon Gate as a heritage structure.
The Burdwan Municipality suddenly took the venture of installing the statues of the king and the queen and Khokon Das, the MLA, Bardhaman (South) became the key person behind the installation. Soumen Karfa, a local resident, had filed a petition before the CHC seeking judicial intervention to stop the installation.
He brought charges of violation of rules pertaining to the maintenance of honour and sanctity of the heritage structures by the civic body. Karfa also alleged that the district administration maintained ‘absolute indifference’ to the violation. The matter scheduled in the Mandamus section was listed to be heard at the Division Bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj today.
Karfa’s lawyer Debapriya Samanta said: “The Division Bench has asked the East Burdwan administration and the Burdwan Municipality and the MLA to file affidavits within 3 weeks from today justifying the need for installation of the statues.
My client will have to file an affidavit after that.” The CHC has further listed the matter on next 26 September. The DM and SP, Burdwan East incidentally had skipped the unveiling ceremony of the statues but Minister Swapan Debnath had graced the occasion.