Royal neglect: Government school building with 200-year-old legacy in Tamil Nadu lies in shambles
KANNIYAKUMARI: The main building of Kalkulam Government Higher Secondary School inside Padmanabhapuram fort that has a tale of over 200 years to tell has been lying in neglect.
Urging the government to restore its past glory, residents, former students and heritage lovers said the school building was once used as a coin manufacturing unit by the erstwhile Travancore kings. Sources said Padmanabhapuram was originally known as Kalkulam, was the capital of both erstwhile Venad and Travancore kingdoms. The sprawling Padmanabhapuram Palace complex was constructed within the ancient Kalkulam fort and was the administrative headquarters of the Venad kingdom.
Padmanabhapuram Town Congress president VK Hanukumar told TNIE the main building of the school was constructed by erstwhile Travancore rulers. “Earlier, it was called Malayalam School,” he said, adding as the building is now in a dilapidated condition, the classes and the office have been shifted out of the main building.
He said monkeys have damaged the tiles of the giant heritage building. “Though we have given representation to the authorities to preserve the heritage of the building, no action has been taken,” he said.
A 70-year-old community leader, V Parameswaranpillai from Padmanabhapuram, said the school had produced many bright students.
He claimed the ‘Kammattom’ the coin minting was held in the building before the Travancore kings shifted their capital to Thiruvananthapuram in the present Kerala.
V Narayanan Nair, a retired senior government official from Padmanabhapuram also said that before the capital was shifted to Thiruvananthapuram, the building had housed the coin minting unit.
Anitha S Natarajan, Convenor of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), in Kanniyakumari said, “It is our responsibility to ensure that the heritage buildings are preserved.”
A senior education department official acknowledged as the building is in a dilapidated condition, it required maintenance.
When contacted, PWD Heritage wing officials told TNIE they inspected the site and had sent a proposal to the 16th finance commission for allotting funds for the renovation of the building. The expert committee would visit the site and examine its heritage and send the report to the heritage committee, they added.