Eastern Railway renovates iconic Durand Institute in Asansol
Kolkata: Eastern Railway has recently renovated and restored the 140-year-old iconic Durand Institute in Asansol.
The Vivekananda Institute, popularly known as Durand Institute, is one of oldest institutes in India. It was set up in 1878 and was named European Institute in 1915 and rechristened as "Durand Institute" in 1925 after Sir Mortimer Durand, the foreign secretary of India during 1884 to 1894 and the architect of Durand line — the international border between Afganistan and Pakistan.
Till the 60s, Durand institute was the absolute centre of social and cultural life in Asansol. It had a huge central dance hall, with a wide nave on one side for tables and seating. The dance floor was normally used for seating which had a cinemascope screen installed in the mid fifties.
The famous Tower with the War Memorial Copper Plate, commemorating the sacrifice of railway men in the First World War, is 22 m high from the ground level to its zenith. Four 18.5 long spires adorn at the top of tower.
But over the years, due to non-repair, the structure had turned into a shambles and needed immediate restoration.
The Eastern railway took a comprehensive renovation plan and restoration work began. The work is now going on a war footing and will be opened on August 15.
Work involved extensive repairs, roof treatment, touch of weather coat all around, painting with aesthetic colour scheme, the construction of sprawling garden and green lawns, air conditioning of mini hall, refurbishing of interiors, restoration of the teak panelled wooden floor, fitment of modern lightings, diffused lighting on the exteriors, construction of an art and heritage gallery show casing all the heritage photographs, restored furniture, trophies, memorabilia and rare documents of the era for a walk down the memory lane.
Landscape garden with hedges and ornamental trees, jogger's track and lush lawns were constructed in the open space on the campus creating a verdant green scenic oasis in the area heavily polluted due to large scale mining and other industrial activities.
