Bengal's iconic Writers’ Buildings set to return as a secretariat

SItting crosswise a time of origin wooden tabularize with a glaze top out in a spacious office on the second floor of the Writers’ Buildings, a state public works department (PWD) officer reminisced about the years he spent in one of the city’s most iconic landmarks and former seat of power. “I am on the verge of retirement and have worked in many offices. But Writers’ Buildings is something different. It has a different charm altogether,” the officer said, asking not to be named.Banished for 13 yearsThe 246-year-old red iconic structure at the heart of the city went dormant 13 years ago when the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-government led by Mamata Banerjee shifted the secretariat to a 14-storey building in Howrah, across the River Hooghly.“The Writers’ Buildings with all its chambers, the corridors, wooden staircases and the iron cage elevators suddenly fell silent in 2013 when the seat of power shifted across the river. But over the past few days, a flurry of activities has started and things are coming back to life again,” said a clerk working in the home and hills affairs department.Soon after sweeping the West Bengal assembly elections held in April, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the party would run the government from Writers Buildings. “It was our old commitment that we would run the government from the Writers’ Buildings,” Samik Bhattacharya, state BJP president told the press on May 5, a day after the results. “Ever since Independence, Writers or Mahakaran, as we know it, has always been the seat of power in Kolkata. The decision to shift the seat of power to Howrah hadn’t gone down well with many. By bringing back the secretariat to Writers’ Buildings, the BJP wants to send a message that it intends to bring back the lost glory,” said Rabindranath Bhattacharya, political commentator.The historyThe Writers’ Buildings (the main block) was constructed in 1780 by builder Thomas Lyon for the East India Company’s junior staff who maintained company records.It was Kolkata’s (then, Calcutta) first three-storey building. In the early 1870s, Ashley Eden, the lieutenant-governor of Bengal at the time, relocated government offices from the city’s Sudder Street to Writers’ Buildings.While the main building was built between 1777 and 1780, several blocks were subsequently added. In the second phase of construction, between 1879 and 1906, five new blocks were added. Between 1945 and 1947, four new blocks were built, and, after Independence, four additional blocks were constructed.“Since it was constructed in 1780, the Writers’ Building has gone through several changes. First it was under the East India Company, then the British government took over and after Independence it became the seat of power in West Bengal till 2013,” Susnata Das, professor of history, Rabindra Bharati University, said.A fresh leaseOn Thursday, sweepers were washing and cleaning the ground floor. On the second floor, where the chief minister’s room is likely to be, renovation was in full swing. Masons, electricians and carpenters, under the watchful eyes of PWD officials, were working in the huge hall-like room under powerful focus lights; alert policemen were on guard.“The new CM is likely to come to Writers and sit in his chamber. So, the CM’s room on the second floor needs to be completed at top priority. It has to be readied by Friday,” said a PWD official, adding that the CM might function from the state Legislative Assembly until the main block is ready.