Santiniketan: The Bolpur municipality on Monday ordered an immediate stop to the ongoing demolition of ‘Abas', which is linked to memories of Abanindranath Tagore, a painter and nephew of Rabindranath Tagore. A large part of the house was demolished on Sunday, and only a part of the outer structure still stands. The locality where the house was situated is known as ‘Aban Palli' — named after the painter. A couple of months ago, the two-storey house was sold to a Kolkata resident by Ayanendranath Tagore. Urmila Ganguly, a Santiniketan ashramik and daughter of Abanindranath Tagore's grandson, said, "This land was bought by Alokendranath Tagore, son of Abanindranath, and he then built this house. Though he did not reside here permanently, Abanindranath would often visit this house. My brother Ayanendranath, who spent a long time abroad and recently came to Kolkata, was compelled to sell the house as it seemed almost impossible to maintain it."According to the Bolpur civic body officials, in Feb, an attempt was made to demolish the house. The municipality had stepped in and locked the main gate leading to the house. The lock still remains in place. A team of engineers from the municipality visited the site on Monday. Bapi Birbonshi, an engineer with Bolpur municipality, said, "The demolition work has been stopped. We are trying to contact the new owner and summon him. We were kept in the dark about the demolition. We have been ordered by our authority to prepare a report and submit it. Our higher authority will take the required decision." The new owner of the building could not be contacted.According to the municipality, permission was sought for renovation, not demolition. Sabujkali Sen, a former teacher of Visva-Bharati and resident of Santiniketan, said, "It is very unfortunate but this is not the first heritage house that has been demolished in Santiniketan. There are still so many houses in Santiniketan which carry the memories of many stalwarts who were related to either the Tagore family or to Visva-Bharati. We should take care of these houses, not demolish them."