MUSEUM DEMAND

Demand for a museum at Victor Palace

Sending a memorandum to the state chief minister the Cooch Behar
Heritage Society requested her to consider setting up of a district
museum in Cooch Behar. CBHS sources claimed that there are many
archival materials and artefacts of the period of erstwhile Cooch
Behar State lying here and there. Historic coins, letters of Cooch
Behar kings, rare photographs, paintings, manuscripts and other
mementos, printing press of the State period, musical instruments used
by legendary folk singers like Suren Ray Basunia, Kedar Chakraborty,
Pyari Mohan Das and Nayed Ali are there that may be preserved in the
proposed museum.
On behalf of the CBHS, Mr Arup Jyoti Majumdar said they conveyed their
proposal to the chief minister with a hope that she would consider the
matter. They also named Victor Palace situated on the west bank of
Sagardighi to room the proposed district museum.
The renovated Victor Palace is a heritage one and it was selected by
the previous Left Front government to establish a luxurious tourist
lodge with all ultra-modern amenities. Later, the government had to
postpone the plan due to large-scale protests from different quarters.
CBHS believes the building named after Prince Victor Nityendra Narayan
is an ideal place for the proposed district museum. An eminent artist
Mr Aniruddha Palit opined that addition of an art gallery may me an
added attraction at the beautiful Victor Palace as it may link
heritage and history with art and culture of the region.