INTACH Appeals to Nitish Kumar to Save Renowned Khuda Bakhsh Library of Patna
The library, started in 1891 by eminent personality Khuda Bakhsh Khan, a bibliophile from Bihar who had painstakingly built the collection, is a jewel of art, culture and academia.
Khuda Baksh Library, Patna. Photo: Mukram Khan, CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons
History14 hours ago
Patna: INTACH, or the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, has appealed to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to spare the demolition of the front portion of the 130-year-old Khuda Bakhsh Library, saying razing of any part of the celebrated institution will be a “monumental loss of heritage” for not just Patna, but the entire world.
New Delhi, India – A plan to demolish part of a 130-year-old library to construct a flyover is being widely slammed in India.
Authorities in the eastern Indian state of Bihar are contemplating razing the front part of the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, located in the heart of the state capital, Patna.
The move has triggered outrage among academics and conservationists, with dozens of the city’s prominent intellectuals urging the state government to preserve the heritage structure.
The Bihar government’s bridge construction department wants to build a $50m 2.2km (1.3-mile) flyover in order to resolve traffic congestion in the state’s main city and has sought a no-objection certificate from the library.