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| .Visakhapatnam District collectorate building, AP. thehindu.com |
The collector during the Raj was the head of the district administration, his multifarious duties include revenue organization, settlement of disputes, management of indebted estates; loans to agriculturists, famine relief, etc. The district administration, a legacy of the British rule, wss first introduced by Warren Hastings in 1772. District collectors were invariably trained professionals in the area of administration and they belonged to Indian Civil Service (ICS). To get qualified for ICS, they had to take tough competitive civil service commission exams held in England after completion specified subjects at a few well-known British universities.
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| Vizag district collectorate, AP. facebook.com |
During the Raj the collectorate functioned in a spacious building specifically built for the purpose of district administration carrying on an array of various administrative work, including paper works in one place.
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| Visakhapatnam District Collector office building andrewwhitehead.net |
The Gothic-styled impressive E-shaped Collector’s Office building in Maharanipeta, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh is a heritage structure designed and built by Dutch engineering company Gannon Dunkerly in 1865. The work on the building was taken up in stages and after a long spell of time roughly 49 years later the building was completed by 1914; part of the reason for the delay might have been due to availability of funds for the project.
During the 2014 cyclone Hudhud, the old structure was damaged in some parts and subsequently they were rectified. It was designed like a castle with buttressed porch, tall circular turrets covering all the three floors, and even a crenelated parapet. it is a fine example of European - styled architecture wirh big court yards, spacious corridors on either side, impressive vintage stairways to access the higher floors and grand spacious rooms with arched doorways and big windows. This building that stands apart in the neighborhood in Vizag carries the legacy of British empire and their tradition of carrying on the administration in a grand style from a stylish building matching their supremacy and assertiveness.
The 3-story structure's elegance is further enhanced by open arches in the rooms on all floors symmetrically similar circular turrets, with a pyramidal roof atop. The fine-looking square-pavilions have three square turrets at all its outer three corners. The portico is designed at the center of the main-block.
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| Vizag Collectorate building, AP. .picxy.com |
01. This year in August this heritage collectorate building celebrated 74th year of Independence Day and the tricolour was hoisted atop the building. Tradition has been that the National Flag is hoisted every day at the Collector’s office, but August 15 has a unique significance.
02. It was on 15 August 1913 the building was inaugurated and occupied by the then District Collector L.T. Harris.
03. Paradoxically, 34 years later on the same day Indian National Flag was hoisted on the same flag-post by a member of INTACH and history buff of Vizag Paul.
04. According to Paul on 15 August 1947 the Union Jack was brought down from the same flag post for the first time since the building was inaugurated and our National Flag hoisted by the then District Collector A.H. Southern, who was also a Britisher.
05. In 1756 Visakhapatnam and the Northern Circars came under the control of the East India company from Mogul ruler Shah Alam II as per the firmans issued by him and later in 1758 by the Nawab of Hyderabad, Mir Nizam Ali Khan, Asaf Jah II.
06. In 1803 Visakhapatnam district was formed and the first District Collector was L.G.K. Murray. The collector office functioned in various locations before moving into a permanent location.
https://www.yovizag.com/collectorate-visakhapatnam-heritage/
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