Agartala: The Tripura government on Tuesday said it was building a new quake-resistant Raj Bhavan and converting the present building into a museum and research centre on Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who had composed several works during his stay there.
The museum at the Pushpavant Palace, the residence of the state’s erstwhile princely family, is intended to serve as a tribute to Tagore, who visited Tripura seven times between 1899 and 1926, on his 150th birth anniversary Tuesday.
“The fear over quakes has increased in Tripura after the massive earthquake followed by tsunami that hit Japan March last year, claiming thousands of lives and causing all-round destruction. Tripura Governor D.Y. Patil had himself expressed his keenness to shift residence from the 95-year-old Raj Bhavan building,” a top official told IANS on condition of anonymity.
Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said that the state government had been also considering to make the Pushpavant Palace, the present Raj Bhavan, as a Tagore museum and research centre.
India’s northeastern region, that includes Tripura, falls in Zone V, the sixth worst quake-prone belt in the world, according to geological studies.
“The Nobel laureate poet had stayed in the Pushpavant Palace during his last visit to the state in February 1926. He composed songs and poems sitting at the ‘Kabi Varanda’ of the gigantic palace.
As the bard’s reminiscences have been associated with the palace, we have decided to make it a Tagore museum and research centre,” said Sarkar, a great fan of Rabindra sangeet. According to the chief minister, the new Raj Bhavan would be constructed within 30 months by the West Bengal government owned engineering company, Macintosh Burn Ltd., at 10 acres of land with an estimated cost of Rs.300 million. (IANS)