The decision of the Trinamul-run Burdwan municipality to erect the statues of Maharaja Bijay Chand Mahtab and his wife Radharani near the pillars of the famed Curzon Gate has prompted many residents of the town and archaeological experts to object to the alleged violation of the sanctity of the structure built 119 years ago.

The municipality plans to inaugurate the concrete statues of Mahtab and his wife on two sides of Curzon Gate on August 20 to honour the Maharaja who erected the monument to welcome Lord Curzon to Burdwan in 1903.

The Maharaja shaped the south Bengal town during his rule of the Burdwan estate from 1887 till his death in 1941.

“The Curzon Gate is a historical monument and a landmark of the town. The statues will obstruct the view of the gate. This is unwarranted. The statues can be installed anywhere else in the town,” said Atanu Hui, a history teacher and Burdwan resident.

“We don’t have any problem with the statues but why do they have to be placed in front of Curzon Gate?,” asked another Burdwan resident.

The monument is a heritage site under West Bengal Heritage Commission and is maintained by the Burdwan municipality. Sources said that the statues would add to the obstruction already caused by a Biswa Bangla logo placed in the vicinity of the gate.

“The statues will be at least 10-foot tall and obstruct the total view of the landmark,” said a district official.

Burdwan municipality sources said the statues were being funded by local Trinamul MLA Khokan Das from his local area development fund. “The statues are funded by the MLA and the civic body is executing the job. We have already left space of five feet from the pillars of Curzon Gate to avoid obstruction,” said Paresh Sarkar, chairman of Burdwan Municipality.

MLA Das said the statues would not affect the heritage monument and people should acknowledge the contribution of the Mahtab family.

“People know the contribution of Maharaja Bijay Chand Mahtab and his family behind the making of modern Burdwan. There will be no harm (to the gate) as the statues will be 6.5-foot tall. We need to compromise with the present if we want to make something new,” he said.

An official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), however, agreed with the dissenters. He said there was no logic behind setting up a new statue of the founder in front of an old monument.

“Will anyone allow us to erect a fresh statue of emperor Shah Jahan in front of the Taj Mahal? A new construction should not be allowed in front of any monument,” said the ASI official in Calcutta on condition of anonymity.

He, however, added unlike monuments protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958, heritage structures protected by state commissions do not enjoy similar privileges.

“Still, this does not mean that the authorities have the unbridled right to violate the sanctity of a century-old monument,” the ASI official said.

Contacted by this newspaper, East Burdwan district magistrate Priyanka Singla declined to comment on the issue.

“I have no comment in this connection,” Singla said.

Covid: Bengal reports 175 new cases

Bengal on Tuesday reported 175 new Covid-19 infections, 631 recoveries and one death.

Currently, Bengal has 4,842 active cases, with 4,648 in home isolation and 194 in hospitals, a state bulletin said.

The state’s recovery rate was 98.75 per cent and mortality rate 1.02 per cent on Tuesday. Case positivity rate was 3.48 per cent on a day when 5,034 samples were tested.

Since the pandemic broke out in 2020, the state has recorded 21,02,932 cases, of which 20,76,667 have made full recoveries and 21,423 have died.

The total precaution (booster) doses administered stood at 1,16,24,356. Precaution doses administered on Tuesday stood at 7,208.