SAGA OF A GTS TOWER

 I would like to draw your attention on a very relevant issue. We might have seen at least a GTS tower in our life. In our daily life while we roam one place to another often we see a standalone tower and most of the time in very dreadful dilapidated or abandoned condition. As a surveyor or belongs to this community I feel very sorrow to see these GTS towers in this condition. Arise some question in mind, is these monuments doesn’t have historical importance? Is these are not a heritage structure? Is these have been declared as a heritage structure? Government should take measure to protect or maintained them. And they are not litigated too.


On the way from home to office at Kolkata, often I see a standalone half broken tower beside State Highway no.2 and in between Nalikul and Kamarkundu Railway Station of Tarakeswar-Howrah Eastern Railway line. It standing without any care for years and full of bushes around. During my survey training heard about GTS stations. After doing extensive search found that name of this GT tower is “Bhola TS”. Record says this is originally a 75 Ft high hollow rectangular tower which is in village Bhola PS Singur Sub. Div-Serampore Dist-Hooghly, West Bengal. Quite a portion of it already fallen. This tower used as primary ground control point in Great Trigonometrical Survey. It was constructed in 1830’s and observation carried out between 1832 to 1869. Initial observation on this tower were carried out under supervision of Sir George Everest, Surveyor General of India (1830-1843). Now situation is “Bhola TS” in ruin, needs immediate restoration work to protect it otherwise it would be completely destroyed within some years.



Now going into some historical background, history of Great Trigonometrical Survey in Hooghly district of West Bengal is quite interesting. From the book “A sketch of the administration of the Hooghly district, from 1795 to 1845, with some account of the early English, Portuguese, Dutch, French and Danish settlements” published in 1888 by George Toynbee, it is found that GTS survey was first commenced in Hooghly District by Mr.Olliver in 1830. Lient. Col. D.G.Crawford,m.b.(Indian Medical Service,Civil Surgeon,Hughli 1902) in his book “A brief history of Hughli District” delineated some details of GT survey in Hooghly district, which is extracted below, that is in his words :



“The Great Trigonometrical Survey was commenced in the Hughli district in 1830, suspended in June 1831, recommenced in March 1832. Great opposition, both active and passive, was shown by the people, who apprehended that the survey would be followed by an increase of taxation, and the work was not finally completed till 1845. There are eight survey stations in the Hughli

1. Hughli 2. Dilakhos 3. Mubarakpor 4. Aknapur 5. Bhola 6. Sathan 7. Boga 8. NiaU*

For two of these, Mubarakpur and Dilakhos, the old semaphore towers were used; for a third the roof of Hughli College was utilized, while for the other five, towers were built. These towers are square, about 50 to 60 feet in height. That at Bhola is within a few yards of theTarakeswar branch of the East Indian Railway, on the north of the line. The sites of these stations are as follows: —



..Roof of Hughli College

8 mile north-east of Tarakeswar.

Half-way between Nalikul and Singur.

11 miles south-east of Dwarbasini.

6 miles north of Naya Sarai.

8 miles north-east of Bainchi. “

Bhola TS- A GTS Tower in ruined. P.C. Sri Amal Kumar Pal

Now as a responsible citizen of India and being a surveyor, we cannot sit idle and let this historical monument of Great Trigonometrical Survey, the “Bhola TS” be destroyed. Fact is that Survey of India has guideline to maintain them and that is same for all over the country. Para 37 of SOI Topographical Hand Book Chapter III says that “all geodetic, some minor stations and all primary (protected) bench-marks are under the custody of local officials, who are responsible for their upkeep. Annual reports on the condition of almost all GT primary, certain other selected stations and all primary (protected) bench marks are submitted by District Officials to the Director, Geodetic and research Branch, together with an estimate of the cost of repairs necessary…..”. It has been come to know that procedure of Survey of India is, maintenance carried out on receipt of the specific information from local authorities, field parties etc. and same is conveyed to local Survey of India directorate to take up required repair/renovation work.

But today with time, it seems that local officials from local directorate of Survey of India are more interested on new GPS pillar instead of GTS Tower. They might have forgotten about GTS towers falling within jurisdiction of respective local directorate that tends to stations are in bad condition. A survey can say whether this generalization can be done all over the country especially where location of GT Tower is in rural area. May be new GPS pillars are the demand of time, may be GTS towers are no more so relevant today but still its has great historical importance that comes from ‘most significant contribution to the advancement of science in the 19th century’ that is Great Trigonometrical Survey which run over 2400km across length of Indian subcontinent, over 50 years of time with inch perfect accuracy and at the cost of many human life’s.

(Article was published in the Souvenir of National Survey Day Committee in the year 2012)

Bhola Tower on Google Map.

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