Nagpur: The historic Kasturchand Park in Nagpur is set to undergo a Rs 8 crore makeover, including an amphitheatre, conservation, and restoration of the Grade-1 heritage Band Stand stone structure monument, as the State Public Works Department (PWD) has started multiple works at the site. After getting the permission from the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC), the district administration has started restoration work of the band stand.
About five years ago, Judges of Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court had visited the sites facing problems to know what exactly the Government had done there. It’s a rare occurrence when High Court judges visit such sites. The then Justice R K Deshpande and Justice Pushpa Ganediwala of the Court visited the Kasturchand Park (KP) to check whether the administration had taken any measures to restore the glory of this historical site as was mentioned in its affidavit. But the sorry state of affairs that they observed compelled them to express displeasure.
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“After the High Court order, we needed to seek permission from the Heritage Committee. Once we got that permission, we immediately sanctioned the required money from the DPC and handed over the work to PWD. For the last two months, cleaning and repairing work has been going on. The Heritage Committee has asked us to take care that its originality should be maintained. Accordingly, PWD is doing that work,” said District Collector Dr Vipin Itankar. PWD has been asked to complete the work in nine months. It includes, cleaning, beautification and repairing the fountain there. PWD has brought artisans from Uttar Pradesh. The works include scraping, washing, and chemical treatment.
The Heritage Committee has asked the PWD not to use cement as it needed to be conserved as per the norms of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). PWD submitted an affidavit wherein it gave detailed information about how the restoration work would go. In recent years, the ground witnessed a lot of infrastructural work including the construction of a metro station with construction material lying on the ground, construction of a walking track right in the middle of the ground that devastated the beauty of the ground. The historic bandstand is in a very sorry condition. Some parts of the roof collapsed and were not repaired. This site is ignored completely. Sans security, the antisocial elements made the further mess.
To bring the historic site to its former glory, the PWD started cleaning the place simultaneously along with the restoration work. “We have brought in specialised artisans from Rajasthan and Gujarat who are experts in stone works. We are not only repairing the monument but also trying to make it as it was in the initial days. No concrete is being used during the restoration work. The stone deteriorated because of the paint, which is now being scraped and given rock treatment. We are also making it waterproof to avoid further deterioration, which happens during rains,” said the PWD official.
PWD officials also added that an amphitheatre and fountain are being developed near the 200ft flagpole, which was installed at Kasturchand Park. “A special project like the one at Zero Mile is being planned at the flagpole,” said the official, adding that special caution is being taken while carrying out the works.
