Two cannons, which lay partially buried for years on the Calcutta airport premises and were recently excavated, are now being sought by the state government to be “restored, preserved and displayed” at a museum that is being planned in the city.
The cannons were lying buried beside hangars 15 and 16, which were earlier used by Air India to park its aircraft for maintenance. Both hangars are now being demolished because new parking bays will come up there as part of an expansion plan, an airport official said.
“It is learnt from reliable sources that two antique cannons of rare model with one gola, which are antique in nature, are lying abandoned for several years at Hangar number 15 & 16 of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. The said cannons and gola are required to be restored, preserved and displayed for the interest of the nation,” reads a letter written to the airport authorities by Biplab Roy, administrator general and official trustee of Bengal, a few days ago.
“I humbly request you to take positive initiative for handing over the said cannons with one gola to our State Judicial Museum and Research Centre at Kolkata which will be restored, preserved and displayed as donated by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport,” says the letter.
The museum, planned by the state government, will have 25 sections, including one for guns and cannons. The site of the museum has yet to be formally announced.
Airport officials said they were willing to donate the cannons to the state government.
“We will be approaching the Airports Authority of India headquarters and after their approval, will donate the cannons to the state government so they can be displayed at the museum,” said C. Pattabhi, director of the Calcutta airport.
A retired official of the airport said they were aware of the presence of the cannons for decades. “The muzzles of the cannons were only visible," said the retired official.
Once the airport authorities started demolishing the two hangars, the cannons were excavated, said an official.
Some of the retired officials of the airport said that originally, only one runway was operational.
“At the onset of World War II, another runway was built along the south east-west of the existing runway, near the area where these cannons were placed. Those runways fell into disuse and the aircraft operations shifted to where we now have the parallel runways,” said one retired official.
Roy, administrator general and official trustee of Bengal, said they have excavated nine cannons in recent times.
Two, both made by the Dutch, were excavated from the Hooghly riverbed in Chinsurah in Hooghly district. Among the others was one used by Bengal’s nawab Siraj ud-Daulah.
Several of the canons were excavated in Calcutta.
“The planned museum will have 25 sections that will capture evolutions of law, civilisation and also guns and cannons," said Roy.
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