Victoria Bridge (Bijai Kesri Bridge):-Mandi
Mandi , the cultural capital of
Himachal Pradesh is historically eminent, spiritually significant and amazingly
panoramic. It is also known as Chhoti
Kashi as it preserves the ancient Hindu Temples from many centuries’. Apart
from Hindu Temples it also reminds about colonial period. Victoria bridge is
showcasing the glimpses of British architecture. A living example to know how
faithfully the construction works were done in the rule of kings and in the
British rule, One of the best example is
143 year old Victoria Bridge.
Victoria bridge is built above the
banks of the Beas river, at the confluence of the Suketi Khad(Stream). It is
built in 1877 AD after the name of Queen
Victoria. This bridge is built on the lines of the Victoria Bridge built in
England. King Bijai Sen constructed this historic bridge at a cost of one lakh rupees and named
it Bijai Kesri bridge.
As per the Historians point of view , the
Raja Bijai Sen of the princely state of Mandi won the car in a competition
organized by the British in Delhi and a bridge was constructed to bring that
car to Mandi.
It believes that George V organized a
ceremony in Delhi in which the kings of the princely states of the country were
called. Raja Bijai Sen of Mandi princely
state also went to Delhi to join it.
During the ceremony, George V held a car competition there. According to the competition, races were held
between horses and cars. The horse of Raja Bijai Sen of Mandi beat the car and
won. In such a situation, George V gave
the car to King Bijai Sen as a condition.
But it was not possible to bring the car to the market and even if you
brought it, where was it to drive here because there was no arrangement of roads
and bridges at that time. King Bijai Sen
urged the British Hakumat to build a bridge connecting the city of Mandi. He promised to build the bridge, accepting
the king's insistence. The king also
paid one lakh rupees for this. The
bridge was completed in 1877.
The bridge is said to be a duplicate copy of
the Victoria Bridge built in England.
This is the reason that the British named it the Victoria Bridge while
the princely state of Mandi named it the Bijai Kesri bridge.
The guards under the Victoria Bridge
have LED lights on both sides. This has
enhanced the beauty of the Victoria Bridge. The lights on the bridge make the
night look more beautiful. On the same
lines, colorful lights have also been installed on this bridge built in Mandi
city. Light of the night adds to its
beauty by illuminating the lights.
The condition of the entrances on the
Victoria Bridge earlier was in a shambles.
Which has now been cleaned and brightened. Many of the stones at the entrances were also
damaged. Those have now been reinstated
in the same form.
A parallel bridge has been constructed
on the Beas River to reduce the pressure of vehicles on this heritage built
bridge. Construction of this bridge to
be built at a cost of about twenty crores is underway. After the bridge is ready, there is a plan to
preserve the heritage by stopping the movement on the historic Victoria
Bridge. The maintenance work has been
done for its renovation while retaining its form. The movement of large vehicles has been
banned from the bridge. Now this bridge is open only for light vehicles. After the parallel bridge is built, the
movement of all vehicles from the historic heritage will be stopped & it
will be open only to pedestrians.
The engineers who built it had given its age
as 100 years, but you must be surprised to know that even after 141 years, this
bridge still stands with the same glory as it was in its initial phase. Neither the towing of the bridge was changed nor any other material.
Yes, it was repaired from time to time. But the number of years after its
construction is enough to show the strength of the bridge.
It should have been saved as heritage
property as soon as possible so that we can preserve our ancestor’s brilliant
work and architecture.
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We should preserve our heritage. Beautifully written.
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