Bose in front of a photograph of C.R. Das at Step Aside. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, Nov. 5: The house where Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das breathed his last has been converted into a museum even as allegations of apathy were levelled against the Bengal government for not chalking out the project earlier.

“This was long overdue. Desbandhu died here on June 16, 1925 — 82 years ago. It is a shame for Bengal and the country that a project like this took so much time to mature,” said Justice (retd) Manjula Bose, the grand-daughter of Desbandhu who inaugurated the museum today.

On April 16, 1925, C.R. Das came to Darjeeling and stayed at Step Aside till his death. Even Mahatma Gandhi and Annie Besant visited him here in June the same year. Within a few days, however, Das died one evening after a bout of fever.

Step Aside is situated just below Chowrastha and commands a panoramic view of the mountains.

Though Desbandhu Memorial Society was formed in 1953 to look after the house, the members headed by the governor of Bengal, hardly met.

The decision to convert the structure into a museum was largely the initiative of present governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who visited the place not less then four times in the last two years.

Bose acknowledged the efforts put in by Gandhi. “Earlier, when H.C. Mukherjee was the governor, he had taken a personal interest in the house. After him, it was present governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi,” said Bose.

The newly constructed museum houses vignettes of Desbandhu’s life captured through newspaper clippings and photographs on the ground floor.

The first floor is complete with the leader’s bed — where he breathed his last — almirahs, personal utensils and a radio. For Bose, who was born two years after Deshbandhu’s death, the occasion was a moment to reflect on her grandfather’s ideals. She has also promised to send a few letters written by Das to the museum.

Rajesh Pandey, the district magistrate and secretary of the Society, said the cost of the project was Rs 40 lakh and had been borne by the state government.

The Society is also planning to introduce entry fees.