Tucked away in a far corner of Tripura is a floating castle that makes even the famed Jalmahal in Udaipur look 'small'. For the locals it is 'Neer (water) Mahal'. Migratory birds of all hues flock to it besides an occasional wanderer like me. Believe it or not, the 'Mahal' is a beauty in stone. And luxury. It stands as a lasting testimony to the 'elegant' taste of Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur. Whether he was inspired what he had seen in Europe or nearer home in Rajasthan is not known but local folklore tells that he had wanted to perpetuate the memory of the Manikya dynasty for ever. From what you see today, there is no doubt that his architects and masons had fulfilled his ambition not in a small measure but substantially. Indeed very substantially, according to the guide who conducts you around the 24 rooms in the 400 metre long building.

The dance floor invites you for a tango with your friend. And the pin drop silence in the elegant assembly hall takes you back by seventy years when the Maharaja had held court every day with his subjects and dispensed 'justice'. The Maharaja used the castle as his summer villa. Gentle breeze from the Rudrasagar (the lake around the Mahal) should have really comforted the Raja and his guests alike just as you and I feel at the Mahal after covering the 'long' distance of 55 km from Agaratala. The engineers and architects of the day took nine years to ready the building blending beautifully the Hindu and Muslim traditions in elegant white stone as desired by the ruler. There are private quarters at the Mahal apparently for the use of the King's ministers and other officials besides the regular staff who were on day-to-day duty. Today's major attraction at the Neer Mahal is a boat festival.

Moulded on the lines of famous snake boast festival in 'Gods own country (Kerala)', the Tripura event has become an annual festival and draws boatmen from all over the state, Assam, Manipur and West Bengal.. Another attraction is a crafts and heritage village, nearby. The Government of India declared the lake as a national lake in 1993 largely due to the efforts of Santosh Mohan Deb, who represented Tripura in Parliament for a term and several enthusiastic environmentalists who have closed their ranks under the banner of Tripura Mukta Mancha. The Neer Mahal lake (Rudrasagar for locals) had 32 feet water when it was built in 1930. And the water body was spread over an area of five square kilometres. Over the years the Marxist government has allowed fishermen to ply boats to ferry people to the Palace. And they have settled down on the lake banks and to grow paddy they reclaimed 'some' land from the lake. How? Very ingeniously.

Sluice gates were opened to 'drain out' some water. Presto! Fertile land appeared. Brick Kilns have sprung up in the vicinity to meet the demand for bricks for housing in Agaratala and its neighbourhood. All this and the usual apathy of the bureaucracy made the lake shrink to one kilometre. Water level is just three feet. Says A. Bhattacharjee, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Sonamura: "If we develop the lake and the surroundings as tourist paradise.... We can promote the place as our own Taj Mahal. Tripura stands to gain nationally and internationally. At least 10,000 locals would benefit directly and indirectly" Now, naturally, there is a cry: 'Save Neer Mahal'. 'Preserve Rudrasagar'. Restore Tripura's heritage to its pristine purity'. Senior citizens, who had seen the good old days of the Lake when they were young, are working over time under the aegis of Tripura Mukta Manch to save the palace and the lake. They have met the chief minister several times. "We met with positive response", one of them told me. But when asked about results on the ground, he merely shrugged his shoulders.

I persisted: "Has Neer Mahal become a political football between the centre and the state? The elderly gentleman smiled but offered no reply. My impression may be wrong, if not wide off the mark altogether. But I tend to believe that I may not wrong after all. Consider these facts. The Union Ministry of Environment deputed a senior official to study the 'project'. After an on the spot 'inspection', the official suggested to two local bodies - Rudrasagar Cooperative Society and Melaghar Panchayat Samiti to come up with proposal for de-silting and deepening the lake. This they did and the Centre has so far released Rs. 75 lakhs under Project Restoration Rudrasagar. The Tripura government is also 'seized' of the issue, according to my inquiries. It has appointed a high level committee whatever the high sounding nomenclature may mean. The State Chief Secretary heads the panel. It has reportedly met over 50 times. It is yet to get down to basics - blue print for restoration. Grapevine said the indecisiveness of the Chief Minister paralysed the committee. Well, how can a Marxist leader be seen as restoring some thing that symbolises, in a manner of speaking, feudalism and a bygone era?

P Dev Kumar