By Our Reporter
Shillong, Oct 17: The Manipuri Elders’ Consortium Shillong (MECS) dismissed the clarification from Manipur departments that the structure of the Manipur Rajbari, also known as the Red Lands, was in a dilapidated state, leading to its demolition.
In a statement issued here on Friday, MECS president TS Leima said that the caretaker’s family had been residing in the same bungalow until a few days ago.
Mentioning their visit to the bungalow on September 7, she said that the MECS members inspected both the interior and exterior areas and found that nearly all the rooms and the porch were in good condition.
The MECS president argued that while the demolition was a part of a comprehensive project titled “Infrastructure Development of Heritage Complex, Rajbari, Shillong”, the dismantling work was carried out by five cement and brick masons from Manipur, without the involvement of any carpenters.
“These workers lacked experience in dismantling wooden bungalows, and the process was not supervised by experts in heritage structure restoration,” Leima said.
She further stated that no proper specialised wood working tools were used during the dismantling process. The house was forcefully taken down by breaking the wooden joints instead of carefully disassembling them, as evidenced by the materials found at the site, she stated. According to her, an inspection of the materials at the site revealed that many of the wooden components were not in an advanced state of deterioration and remained in fairly good condition.
The MECS president pointed out that the Manipur General Administrative Department’s (GAD) claim that the “entire structure was dismantled manually with proper care” was not true.
“If proper care had been taken, the wooden posts would not have been found with broken joints. This directly contradicts their claims of a careful dismantling process,” she said.
Leima said that the agency responsible for demolishing the bungalow should not be involved in the monitoring or supervision of the committee formed by the Governor.
She further observed that the Planning & Development Authority (PDA), Manipur, lacks experience in restoring such bungalows and has no prior record of undertaking similar restoration projects.
“Therefore, this sensitive and specialised work should be entrusted to qualified experts in the field. Additionally, the committee should include representative members from the Meitei community residing in Shillong,’ she said.
The MECS has no objections to the members of the “Monitoring and Supervision” committee formed by the Governor, except for the inclusion of Ngangom Dilip Meitei from the PDA.
She asserted that the PDA should be excluded from any involvement in the Manipur Bhavan Shillong project.
She also questioned why the Meghalaya government was excluded from the process.
“Was the necessary approval for the demolition and reconstruction of the bungalow obtained from the Department of Urban Affairs, Government of Meghalaya, as required for such projects in the state?” she asked.
