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The Band House, which once housed the celebrated Police Band and later the Police Commissioner’s office in Nazarabad here, will soon be getting back its old charm as the Bank Note Paper Mill Limited (BNPM) has come forward to get the building renovated with a contribution of ₹ 64 lakh as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR).
The band house was built in the year 1920 to facilitate the celebrated band that used to perform at the palace to carry out rehearsals.
The office of the Commissioner of Police said the band house building is 102 years old and has an open balcony and gabled-tiled roof. The office of the police chief functioned in the same building until it was shifted to the new office, which is located adjacent to the band house building.
The renovation work of the band house got off to a start as the bhoomi puja for the project was done here on Thursday. The Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage will be carrying out the renovation and an agreement in this regard was signed on the occasion.
Commissioner of Police Chandragupta, Commissioner of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage B.R. Poornima, BNPM Managing Director K.G. Vishwanathan and others were present during the bhoomi puja.
The Mysuru Police Commissioner did not have an office or a house when the Commissionerate was set up 33 years ago.
A decision was taken to shift the office to Band House, a heritage building on Mirza Road, in 1997. Though the Band House was a heritage structure, it was found to be inadequate to house the City Police Commissioner’s office and the other establishment offices coming under the Commissionerate.
Hence, a decision was taken to construct the new building in the space adjacent to the Band House, keeping Mysuru’s history and architecture in mind. The architecture of the new office building of the Commissioner of Police matches with the heritage symbol of Mysuru.
