Govt departments play blame game on reopening of Shahid Minar

Kolkata: Will people be ever allowed to climb to the top of Shahid Minar (Ochterlony Monument) again? This practice was stopped several years ago after somebody committed suicide by jumping off the viewing gallery atop the 48-metre high tower in the heart of Kolkata.There are many, particularly those trying to showcase the city's heritage structures to tourists, who want the ban to get lifted. Some have even approached the Kolkata Police for permission but all efforts went in veinto no avail."I have been trying to get the monument reopened for visitors. After all, tourists are allowed to the top of such buildings across the world such as the Empire State Building and Eiffel Tower. This will be a great tourist attraction for tourists people visiting Kolkata. The Kolkata Police maintains that visitors can't be allowed till the PWD constructs a protective grille around the viewing gallery to prevent people from committing suicide or falling off by accident," said Anthony Khatchaturian, who organises tours around heritage structures in Kolkata's central business district for tourists.When contacted, a senior PWD official said that it had intended to install a grille around the viewing gallery but conservation architects stood against spoke out against such a move."Organisations like Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (Intach) are of the opinion that a structure around the viewing gallery would spoil the looks of the monument. If this is the case, we would not like to proceed. The Monument is a very important part of the city's Kolkata's heritage and we wouldn't want it to look bad," he said. Indivar Pandey, principal secretary, PWD, could not be contacted for comment.However, when Intach was contacted on whether it had objected to the construction of a protective structure around the viewing gallery, officials said otherwise."First of all,We have not been officially contacted by the PWD on this subject. The matter may have come up for discussion unofficially. So far as I remember, we have never said that it is not possible to create a protective structure can't be created around the gallery. Nowadays, there are strong nets that would be nearly invisible from the ground. We would have no problems if such material is used for protecting people who go up to the viewing gallery," said G M Kapur of Intach.Khatchaturian added, "This attitude by the PWD is depriving tourists as well as people from Kolkata of a fantastic experience. He believes that if an effort was made, a climb to the top could be an important part of the itinerary for any tourist, particularly those with interest in photography."