After Patna Fowler rescue, demand for saving vintage road roller in Darbhanga

Patna/Darbhanga: Months after a nearly century-old road roller built by the British firm John Fowler was rescued in Patna, heritage lovers are now demanding that another decaying vintage steamroller in north Bihar's Darbhanga be saved.

Locals in Darbhanga, centre of the culturally-rich Mithila region, say the neglected road roller, has been lying in this condition near the Gangasagar Lake in the city for the past several years.

Going by its design and built, and a nearly matching appearance with the John Fowler road roller rescued recently from the Patna Museum, vintage transport experts have conjectured that it was built by the same firm and is of roughly the same vintage as its "Patna cousin".

Darbhanga is about 140 km from the state's capital, Patna.

The steam road roller in the Bihar capital, manufactured by the famed John Fowler and Co, Leeds, England was a possession of the District Board of Patna till about two years ago when it lay decrepit in a corner of the campus of the now-razed Patna Collectorate, from where it sent to the Patna Museum after a dramatic rescue on the intervening night of August 24-25, 2022.

After ingloriously rotting on the premises of the museum for nearly 18 months, the British-era steamroller was rescued by road construction authorities in Patna, capping a dramatic journey for the vintage machine that has survived the odds.

After being lent a basic restoration, the roller is currently kept under a shed at a mechanical workshop of the state's road construction department in Patna.

Darbhanga native Narayan Choudhary, says, he had brought to the notice of local museum authorities, the need to immediately rescue and restore the steamroller in in Darbhanga.

"Last year, in November too, I had approached museum authorities in Darbhanga urging them to intervene and save this piece of heritage, but in vain," he told PTI.

There are two museums nearby Gangasagar Lake, the Maharaja Laxmeshwar Singh Museum, named after one of the most prominent rulers of the erstwhile Darbhanga Raj which built iconic palaces, forts and other imposing buildings in Darbhanga and other parts of Mithila; and the Chandradhari Museum, both under the Bihar government.

"We read about a similar road roller in Patna that was rescued and refurbished. Why can't our Darbhanga steamroller be saved too for future generations," Choudhary told PTI.

The design and make of the machine, nearly a twin of the Patna roller, fully suggests that it too was built by now defunct John Fowler company and shipped to India for use by local authorities, around 100 years ago.

Darbhanga-born Abhinav Sinha, 33, a mechanical engineering by training and a heritage enthusiast, lamented apathy of local government authorities and indifference of city residents and others people towards this "priceless heritage" that should be used for also educating the current generations about the technology used in the bygone area.

"But, one positive thing that has happened after the rescue and restoration of the Patna roller is that our awareness has increased, and though this machine was lying there for so many years, I never noticed it or understood its value," Sinha told PTI.

"But, few weeks ago, I was in that neighbourhood, and I could immediately tell that this one looks exactly like the Patna one appeared before it was rescued," he said.

All plates and markers of the manufacturer of this machine, believed to be a John Fowler, are missing, which some locals claim were gradually robbed in the past owing to their antique value, he added.

Unlike the Patna steamroller, no government agency has so far taken its ownership, which has disappointed heritage lovers even more.

Sources at the local museums in Darbhanga said "top authorities" were "not interested in saving this machine" and pointed to the poor fate the John Fowler at Patna Museum had met with.

A senior official of the road construction department in Patna, however, acknowledged the vintage worth of the Darbhanga road roller.

"It has been brought to our notice that another steamroller, similar to the Patna one is lying near a lake in Darbhanga. We will try to get more details and do the best we can to preserve our past, our heritage," the official told PTI.

The demand to save another vintage road roller also comes at a time when India is hosting the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in New Delhi.

Derek Rayner, vice chairman and steam archivist to the UK-based Road Roller Association (RRA), who had closely followed the rescue of the Patna roadroller, expressed hope that this other vintage beauty in Bihar too will get its due.