May 31 is deadline to complete Bismillah Khan's mausoleum

Varanasi: The Central government has planned to commemorate the birth centenary of shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan and other celebrities this year and the state government is constructing a mausoleum at the grave of Khan in Fatman graveyard here. However, the construction of the 23 ft tall mausoleum, which was started During Ramzan last year, is yet to be completed.
The deadline of its completion is May 31.
A meeting of the National Implementation Committee (NIC) was held in New Delhi on May 19 under the chairmanship of Union home minister Rajnath Singh to consider proposals regarding commemoration of birth centenary of Biju Patnaik, Bismillah Khan, Amrit Lal Nagar, MS Subbulakshmi and 150th birth anniversary of Swami Abhedananda.
The need for creation of infrastructure at the birth place of each personality was emphasized in the meeting.
After the death of Shehnai maestro on August 21, 2006, the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had announced that a memorial would be constructed in Varanasi.
He had also announced the construction of a Shehnai Academy in Lucknow and Sangeet Ratna Award in the name of the great shehnai exponent.
The project was put on the backburner with the change in government. In 2012, when the SP formed its government again, a fund of Rs 29 lakh was approved for the construction of mausoleum in Varanasi. The project is being executed by UP Processing and Construction Cooperative Federation Ltd (PACCFED).
The project was expected to be completed by the end of October last year but it was delayed. The construction of ground portion and pillars were completed. "We have given a deadline of May 31 to complete the work," regional cultural officer Ratnesh Verma said. A gate will also be constructed at the entrance of the graveyard.
According to him, the mausoleum of Chunar sand stone will carry information on the life history of the shehnai maestro in English and Hindi. It will be a blend of Islamic and Hindu architecture. There will be a 20-kg brass shehnai placed in the mausoleum.