Shillong, Oct 12: The destruction of the heritage Manipuri Redland Bungalow at the Laitumkhrah area of the city has evoked criticism.
The historical importance of the place is that the merger agreement between the Manipur king with the Central government was signed at the heritage building.
Besides Manipur’s anguish over the matter, concerns were raised by the Manipuri residents in the city.
N.Munish Singh, President, Manipuri Sahitya Parishad Meghalaya, has deplored the demolition.
According to Singh, who is also the Founder President, Manipuri Elders Consortium, Shillong, in 1949, a merger agreement was signed by the then King of Manipur, Bodhchandra Singh & India. At that time, Manipur was an Independent kingdom and was moving towards merger.
The merger agreement was signed at the heritage building here.
Singh said the building constructed during the British era had its own history and heritage, which is important to both Meghalaya and Manipur.
Meghalaya has its own Heritage Act whereby such buildings should be preserved, he added.
“Manipur government got funds from North Eastern Council (NEC) and the state wants to build a Guest House, and apart from it, funds were provided to give a facelift to the premises”, he said.
According to Singh, the concerned contractor and the engineer are not aware of the importance of the heritage building, as they bulldozed the main structure overnight.
“The concerned Manipur officials dealing with the matter should be held responsible for this as they did it without any approval, and there is nothing left in the house”, Singh said.
Now, our efforts will be to see that the remains of the building- the wooden part- should be preserved and reconstructed again, Singh added.
