KMC mulls remodelling of ace physicist BD Nag Chaudhuri's house into museum

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is seriously considering a proposal from Behala councillor Sudip Polley, to convert the dilapidated house of Padma Bhusan recipient Basanti Dulal Nag Chaudhuri into a museum.

Welcoming the proposal from Polley, who is the councillor of ward 123 at the monthly meeting of KMC on Wednesday, Member Mayor-in-Council (Parks and Gardens) Debashis Kumar said, "We are considering the proposal. There are some processes involved that have to be followed before going forward with this proposal."

Kumar pointed out that the civic body first needs to take the opinion of the family members, take into account who owns the land exhibited on which the house is situated, what are the articles that can be exhibited in the museum, etc. before taking up the work.

"The process will take time but there is no doubt that this is a good proposal," he added.

It may be mentioned that after the death of Nag Chowdhury and his wife Dipali Nag, who was a noted singer, the house situated at Biren Roy Road has been lying in a dilapidated condition. His son is presently settled abroad and the house is looked after by a caretaker.

The house is just adjacent to the residence of former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly.

According to sources, it was Ganguly who had complained to councillor Polley a few months ago about the lack of cleanliness in Nag Chowdhury's house, after one of his family members was diagnosed with dengue.

Nag Chaudhuri (September 6, 1917 –June 25, 2006) is known as one of the pioneers of nuclear physics in India and for building the nation's first cyclotron at the University of Calcutta.

In the early 1970s, as the Scientific Advisor to the Ministry of Defence and chair of the Cabinet Committee on Science and Technology, he had played an influential role in Smiling Buddha, India's first nuclear test. He had also initiated the first feasibility studies on India's ballistic missile program.