Patna, Dec 22 (PTI) After Gandhians and history lovers, now several postal heritage enthusiasts have joined the chorus for preserving an over century-old iconic building of the PMCH in Patna which Mahatma Gandhi had visited three months ahead of India's Independence.

The old Patna General Hospital (earlier Bankipore General Hospital) building which is also equipped with a rare British-era lift, and fronted with tall magnificent Doric pillars, is facing demolition as part of a massive redevelopment project of the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).

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On May 15, 1947, Gandhi visited the historic hospital for a surgery of his grandniece Manu, and a rare black and white photograph, drawn from archives, showing Bapu sitting on a chair inside the operation theatre, has been published in a new book.

Titled 'Postal Heritage of Bihar: A Journey of India Post Bihar through Stamps', it was released recently at Bihar Philately Exhibition (BIPEX 2024) held in Patna that showcased some of the oldest and the rarest stamps in the world, including the original copies of 1774 copper ticket of Azimabad (now Patna), Penny Black, Scinde Dawk and the extremely rare -- British Guyana Stamp: One Cent Magenta.

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Chief Post Master General, Bihar Circle, Anil Kumar said this was the biggest-ever BIPEX hosted in the state.

"About 400 frames were on display with 20,000-25,000 stamps and spanning 120 thematic subjects. These included a special section on Gandhi stamps as also stamps issued to mark India's Independence in 1947," Kumar told PTI.

One of the frames titled 'In Memory of Bapu' featured another rare monochrome photograph of Gandhi sitting inside the operation theatre of PMCH along with a letter that he had written that very day, "15.5.1947", on a postcard.

Pragya Jain, 36, and his father Pradip Jain, are known as the father-son philatelist duo in Patna. "We feel proud to possess this rare postcard on which Gandhi wrote during his Patna visit in 1947," Pragya says. Philately refers to the collection of stamps and other postal items.

He said the postcard was sent to one "Madam Wadia" whom Gandhi addressed as "Dear Sister ", and originally carried the address of a place in Bombay (now Mumbai). But, from there it was again forwarded to 'Guru Mandir' in Ootacamund (Ooty) in Nilgiris in south India.

"Three date stampings show the postcard, bearing a King George VI, 9 pies postage, eventually was received on May 22, 1947," he added.

"Philately is one way of perpetuating Gandhi's legacy, but his real heritage is the values he espoused and the buildings associated with him in Patna and the rest of Bihar, and these should be preserved and properly maintained," Pragya told PTI.

He batted for preserving the old general hospital building, popularly called the 'Hathwa Ward' so that current and future generations can "feel and touch" the place that was visited by Gandhi barely a few months before Independence.

Bhairab Lal Das, Patna-based Gandhian and author and philately enthusiast who also visited the BIPEX 2024 reiterated that the old building of PMCH connected with Gandhi "should be preserved, restored and linked with tourism circuits".

The two-storey structure houses the old Hathwa Ward and Guzri Ward. It is fronted with a handsome building having graceful columns on two sides. The old operation theatre where Manu was operated is located on the first floor.

The heritage buildings of the PMCH, which was founded in 1925 as the Prince of Wales Medical College, are being demolished in three phases as part of a major redevelopment project, with new high-rise structures replacing "signposts" of what was established as Bihar and Odisha's first medical college.

The old Bankipore General Hospital even predates the establishment of the college located in the Muradpur area whose campus faces the Ganga on one side and the Ashok Rajpath on the other.

The iconic structure was built for the Temple Medical School set up in 1874 and evolved into the medical college which was originally named so to commemorate the visit of then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, to Patna in 1921.

In fact, it was on this very day, December 22 in 1921 that he had arrived in Patna, and stayed here till December 23, before departing for Calcutta (now Kolkata).

The college will complete its centenary early next year, with grand celebrations planned in the month of February. It was renamed Patna Medical College and Hospital a few decades after Independence.

Many of its alumni members have in the past couple of years, appealed multiple times to the Nitish Kumar government to spare at least the old general hospital building and the Administrative Block that houses the office of the college's principal.

In 2022, PMCH Alumni Association's then president Dr Satyajeet Kumar Singh had urged the state government to not demolish the heritage landmark calling it a "significant piece of history" of the country and of Bihar, and Gandhi's connection "magnifies its priceless legacy".

Many noted Gandhians have appealed in the past to preserve this built heritage and "not sever this critical link of Bapu with Patna".

In 2000, a commemorative stamp bearing an illustrated image of the old Bankipore General Hospital was issued to mark 75 years of the once-famed medical institution, but ironically, on the brink of its centenary, the historic landmark is facing demolition.

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