Golghar: A Stunning Stupidity

 


After the terrible impact of the 1770s Bengal famine, which killed approximately 10 million people, mostly in the Eastern part of India. Warren Hastings who was the Governor-General of India at that time ordered Captain John Garstin of the Bengal Engineers, part of the East India Company's Bengal Army to build a huge granary in Patna that can store grain for the whole city. 

John Garstin built the Golghar on 20 July 1786 in Patna, Bihar with a large storage capacity of 140000 tons of grains is one of the most massive food storage structures in modern history.   

It is called Golghar because of its unique beehive-shaped structure. The building is built in the Stupa style, which is also compared to the Adil Shah Tomb of Bijapur. It has a height of 29 m. It is pillarless with a wall of thickness of 3.6 m at the base. To climb to the top of the Golghar has a 145-step spiral stairway. It was designed to facilitate the passage of the workers who loaded and unloaded the grain in the granary, who had to carry grain bags up one flight, deliver their load through a hole at the top, and descend the other stairs. 

However, it never served its purpose due to its many flaws in the construction. The doors of Golghar opened inwards and it was later realized that if the granary was packed to its limit, it will become impossible to open the doors. And because of the intense heat in the summer season, it was impossible to keep the grains safe. Due to these flaws, the granary has never served its purpose and is considered Garstin's stupidity. 

Apart from a repository, this simple yet stunning structure presents an amazing panoramic view of the entire city and the nearby Ganga.

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