The Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) has decided to turn the heritage structure of Howrah Town Hall into an archive, as it is no longer commercially viable to let it out for programmes and soirees. Ever since the hall was renovated and opened to public from August 2013, very few organisers have shown an interest in booking the heritage hall. 

The interiors of the Howrah Town hall had been badly damaged after the heavy barrel roof of the heritage structure came crashing down in 2004. The renovation work continued for nine long years as the agencies assigned to restore the structure took a long time to restore it. Though the walls and doors of the hall remained intact after the collapse of the roof, the wooden balcony, which used to seat visitors, was damaged beyond recovery. 

Besides, most of the 54 precious paintings that adorned the walls of the majestic hall were also damaged. The valuable pictures were restored and fixed on the walls of the hall. 

 

“We hoped after restoration, organisers would start booking the hall. But our hopes have been dashed. In the last two years, very few organisers approached us for booking the renovated hall,” said an HMC officer. 
He said that the organisers’ apathy towards the Town Hall is understandable. The hall lacks even the most basic facilities. “The hall has no seating arrangement. The organisers have to hire chairs. Besides the hall is neither air-conditioned nor is the acoustics good. Naturally, the organisers prefer to book Sarat Sadan or Ramgopal Mancha than the Howrah Town Hall,” the official said. 

He said that even before the Town Hall had collapsed, organisers had stopped booking the hall. “There were several reasons behind it. The barrel roof of the hall had developed leaks at several points. During monsoon, the floor of the hall used to get flooded. The lighting was also insufficient and the hall was not maintained at all. 

Now these problems no longer exist. But organisers now want air-conditioned halls with permanent seating arrangements,” said another official. 

 Besides, there are a number of options to choose from if anyone wanted to hire a hall in Howrah. “After the construction of the Sarat Sadan, the Town Hall became irrelevant. Sarat Sadan turned into the cultural hub of Howrah town. So it is advantageous for us to organise our programmes at Sarat Sadan,” said Ajay Dey, secretary of a biannual magazine Anchalik. 

“We are going to turn the Town Hall into an archive. All the valuable things associated with the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) will be kept in the hall for preservation,” said mayor Rathin Chakraborty.