Water has been dripping through the roof of Victoria Memorial since 1990. A Telegraph picture

The problem

Victoria Memorial has been severely affected by rainwater dripping through the ceiling since 1990. The authorities, despite assurances, have done little to stop the menace. The Central hall and the Durbar hall, which display a number of historic paintings and documents, have been the most affected.

I had seen rainwater falling on the statue of Queen Victoria and reported it to the high court. The authorities apparently took action and claimed in the court that the problem was solved fully, though the facts are otherwise.

During this monsoon, there have been frequent incidents of rainwater trickling in and reportedly damaging valuable documents, including the famous painting portraying the marriage ceremony of Queen Victoria. In the first week of July, I found water dripping from the Memorial ceiling. On enquiry, I found that a woman employee of the museum slipped on a puddle of rainwater on the floor and got injured a month ago.

The complaint

I have been pursuing the matter for five years. In 2002, I filed a PIL in the high court about the overall degradation of the memorial — including its defacement because of pollution and lack of maintenance. The problem of damage by rainwater was also highlighted.

There were other problems like felling of trees, polluted ponds and burning of chullahs within the complex. Though many of these issues have been addressed, mainly due to judicial initiative — parks have come up around the memorial putting an end to illegal parking — the monitoring from the Memorial authorities remains inadequate.

One can find plastic bags dumped within the complex. Dogs stray into the area. I have recently filed an affidavit to inform the court about the state of affairs at the Memorial.

Subhas Dutta
President, Rejuvenators for Environment, Nature and United Society,
13 Panchanantala Road, Howrah

(Readers are invited to write to sunday.metro@abp.in to highlight environment hazards in the city)