Kolkata :

St George’s Gate, once a prominent structure of the city after which even a road was named, was long lost. And now, even its remains are sinking into oblivion.

The southern gateway to Fort William near the northern slope of Kidderpore bridge, the gate, also known as Coolie Darwaza, was abandoned by military authorities when the passageway was converted into a civilian road — St George’s Gate Road. The new St George’s Gate of Fort William was built a little west, near Prinsep Ghat.

TOI on Thursday found only the pillar on the side of southern flank partly intact, overgrown weeds covering most part of it. The other part on the northern side has vanished. Only its broken pieces are strewn all over the place. Who razed it? When was it razed? No one ever bothered to know. It is not known whether it was razed when the elevated approach road of Vidyasagar Setu was constructed.

The pathetic condition of the gate was brought to the notice of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) by Anthony Khatchaturian, a passionate heritage activist. ASI regional director (east) Dr P K Mishra immediately took note of it and inquired about it. He also wrote to GoC Bengal Area, requesting him to look into how this important heritage gate got destroyed.

“Historically, it is a very important architecture. It would be great if we could restore the structure,” said Mishra. There is a detailed reference of St George’s Gate in M L Augustine’s book ‘Fort William: Calcutta’s Crowning Glory’.

“I was surprised how such a beautiful structure is being damaged systematically. I was surprised to find the signs of destruction still intact across the road. There must be some serious attempt to restore the structure and rebuild the destroyed one,” said Anthony, a passionate save heritage campaigner with an Armenian origin.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / by Krishnendu Bandyopahyay, TNN / September 11th, 2015