VISAKHAPATNAM: People, who had razed down Moti Mahal with bulldozers on its 150th anniversary when there was an option to restore it, are now raising a hue and cry about Three Lanterns Pillar in Vizianagaram; it was removed only to restore it after beautification, MANSAS Trust chairperson Sanchaita Gajapathi Raju said.
Speaking to TNIE here on Monday, Sanchaita said her uncle Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who was the then Union minister could have secured necessary funds to restore Moti Mahal. Instead, he chose to dismantle the old edifice when there was an option for restoring it and, as the chairperson of MANSAS Trust, he gave his consent to pull down the building, she said.
Sanchaita said Three Lanterns Pillar main structure was retained and kept safely in the municipal office. The pillar will be restored soon; beautification works have begun and they will be completed within a month, she said. The pillar was removed for restoring it, while Rani Mahal was demolished forever. “Had there been so much concern about heritage then, they would not have demolished the Moti Mahal,” she observed.
A notification was issued in 2018 and after getting approval, the structure was brought down in 2019. The restoration works of Three Lanterns Pillar were taken up after issuing notification in newspapers, she said. She expressed confidence that people will surely welcome the renovated structure. Referring to the huge land bank of the MANSAS, Sanchaita said she would digitise the land records and drone mapping of the assets of MANSAS to know extent of land and their actual position. As she is a lawyer herself, she will do everything to protect the lands of MANSAS.