Indian Monument Restoration and Protection thread

[vidya]

Ropeway cable car to link Warangal temples .... Read More

[munda]

The CST station in Mumbai also need to be cleaned. There are so many black spots on the building. Its the second most pictured building in india after Taj Mahal.

[DeMorgan]

Fine old Calicut Building threatened
Hello,

"A Heritage Site Soon to Disappear


One more landmark in the glorious past of Calicut may soon disappear – unless those who love Calicut (and they are legion) act to prevent the demolition of the only colonial structure left in the Mananchira Square. The row of buildings constructed in the Victorian style which adorns the southern bank of the Mananchira Tank may soon be sold in auction for meeting some statutory payments relating to the dues of the workers of the Commonwealth Trust."

From

http://calicutheritage.blogspot.com/

It would be sad if this fine old building were to disappear, as it was on of the finest buildings in the town. It would make a great heritage hotel, like some of those in Kochi.

Can't some good use be found for it?

Nick

[Hindustani]

[harsh1802]

Cool. Good public awareness campaign.

[zenith_suv]

Red Fort barracks restored, REDISCOVERED

The barracks, vacated by Army in 2002, will be thrown open to the public after ASI shifts its museums here

Richi Verma | TNN


History is being rediscovered at the 17th century Red Fort. While carrying out a conservation programme in the colonial garrisons within the Mughal citadel, architects discovered long-lost treasures in one of the upper floors, including a stone plaque of the Wiltshire regiment, dated 1914. Wiltshire regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881.

The plaque carries the names of a number of British soldiers. Thanks to the conservation, the barracks have regained much of their original glory, after lying in a dilapidated and neglected condition for several years.

Talking about the plaque, an ASI official said: ‘‘The insignia is historical evidence. Now that the conservation project for the barracks are almost complete, we will open them for public and use them to house the Mumtaz Mahal and war memorial museums.” In fact, the first of the newly renovated barracks, B1 and B2, will be used on April 18 by ASI to host World Heritage

Day celebrations.

The conservation work for B1 and B2 was outsourced to a Mumbai-based firm, KB Constructions and Engrs Ltd, on an experimental basis. Now, ASI is looking to tender out work in the remaining barracks as well. India Tourism Development Corporation is planning a digital museum in another barrack, B3, which will be based on Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology.

All alterations and additional structures in the barracks constructed by the Indian Army have been removed. Citing a problem of shortage of raw material which led to six month delay in project completion, Rajat Dilwali, project incharge for the barracks conservation said: ‘‘The buildings were in a dilapidated condition and the Indian Army made its own additions. It took us a lot of time to break down the alterations and keep the structure confined to its original architectural design.’’

The metal railings put by the army have been removed and replaced with wooden railings like the ones that existed earlier. Most of the stone flooring has been retained and repairs made where necessary. ‘‘Wherever we could salvage the original structure we did as ASI was firm that there should be minimum changes in the building facade,’’ said Dilawali. Broken staircases and a damaged roof all needed urgent attention. The team working on the barracks used archival pictures to retain the original architecture work.

The Red Fort has eight colonial buildings built by the British after they ousted the last Mughal emperor Bahadurshah Zafar in 1857. Each of these three-storey structures accommodated British army officials. The ASI plans to utilise the barracks to house the fort’s two museums, claiming that the colonial-period buildings have been lying vacant since the Army left in 2002.

BARRACK TALE

There are 8 three-storey garrisons within the Red Fort complex. The garrisons were built by the British after 1857

Two of these barracks, B1 and B2, will house ASI museums after the facelift. Presently the museums are located in Naubad Khana & Mumtaz Mahal

India Tourism Development Corporation plans to convert barrack B3 into a digital museum

The conservation plan of the barracks includes restoring them to their original architectural design & removing alterations and structures made by the Indian Army

Facelift of the B1 & B2 barracks, done by a Mumbaibased firm, took around 11/2 yrs. ASI is now looking to outsource conservation work in the remaining barracks GLORY REVIVED NOW

Source - TOI e paper

[ceejay2005]

We are natives of the East Valley with over 30 years experience in the home services industry. Because our reputation is important to us, we guarantee all of our work and will do whatever is needed to make sure our customers are completely satisfied. Our prices meet or beat the industry standards. We have vast experience working with all the major insurance companies, which allows us to bill them directly. All of our technicians and employees have been trained and certified with the newest precedures az water damage restoration.

[zenith_suv]

AT HUMAYUN’S TOMB WEIGHT IS OFF

ASI removing lime concrete crust laid by the British on mausoleum’s roof. It was putting a pressure of about 10 lakh kg on the structure

Richi Verma | TNN


In a unique initiative to restore the architectural integrity and historical significance of the 17th century Humayun’s Tomb, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) have removed a thick layer of cement concrete from the mausoleum’s roof that was putting a pressure of about 10 lakh kg on the structure.

According to experts, the British laid the cement concrete on the roof of the monument in 1920s to prevent water seepage. However, the layer blocked water drainage channels leading to heavy rainwater accumulation that caused considerable damage. ‘‘Instead of repairing the roof, the British simply added a heavy concrete layer on it. This led to a blockage in water passages. The rainwater accumulated on the roof caused severe damage to stonework in the monument as well as disfigurement of architectural elements,’’ said a senior ASI official.

ASI director general K N Shrivastava said: ‘‘The extra cement was an unnecessary weight on the structure. Rather than laying this cement, the leakages in the roof-top should have been simply plugged. Removal of the concrete cement is an asset for the tomb.’’

Removal of the lime concrete revealed hidden portions of the monument’s roof — steps, octagonal base of the dome, red sandstone plinths of chhatris etc. It also cleared the gutters to allow free passage of rainwater. ‘‘The tomb’s roof has had several additional layers of lime concrete applied to it in the past century to prevent water ingress. This extra load caused severe stress and waterlogging with the original drains no longer functional,’’ explained an official.

It took around eight months to remove the lime concrete. First, a 30cm-deep cut of about 5mm thickness was applied on a 1m grid. Specially imported tools were used to make 10cm-wide cuts on the roof surface and it took 30 craftsmen to remove the 50cm-thick concrete. The concrete was dropped to the ground on temporary ramps set up at night after visiting hours to avoid inconvenience to tourists. A traditional lime-based roof layer was finally laid out. The focus is to tender a similar treatment to the tomb’s first chabutra (plinth). According to AKTC officials, the platform where the tomb stands was originally paved with large blocks of quartzite stone, some of which weighed over a 1,000 kg. ‘‘In the 1940s, an uneven settlement in the lower plinth was corrected by covering it with a layer of concrete, but this wasn’t how the Mughals intended it to be. Not only did this disfigure the original design but it was historically inappropriate,’’ said an official.

Historian Zafar Hasan is said to have described the platform flooring as similar to that of the west gate of Humayun’s Tomb. The concrete layer over the flooring will be removed in what is likely to be a long, tedious process.

Intach Delhi Chapter convenor AGK Menon, who reviewed the project some time back, said that removal of the concrete layer was critical as the building couldn’t be overburdened. ‘‘Every time the roof would leak, a layer of concrete was added. Over time, it gained a thickness of about 40cm, posing danger to the structure and obscuring historical levels 08on the roof. A historical building should remain as authentic as possible,’’ he said.

The conservation work at Humayun’s Tomb is jointly undertaken by ASI, AKTC, Central CPWD, MCD and Aga Khan Foundation and has been partly funded by Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...Mode=HTML&GZ=T

P.S. - there are some nice pics of the restored monument in the link given above , if anyone knows how to copy them from there please do so.

[Marathaman]

[Cov Boy]

Very interesting!

[Jodhpur2]

Amber fort in jaipur was recently renovated... their are pictures of renovation on flickr.... so if anybody has time can they please upload it... as I'm currently busy.....Also the janani dhoidi of Meharangarh fort, jodhpur was also renovated.. I'll get the pictures for you....

[engineer.akash]

Originally Posted by Jodhpur2

Amber fort in jaipur was recently renovated... their are pictures of renovation on flickr.... so if anybody has time can they please upload it... as I'm currently busy.....Also the janani dhoidi of Meharangarh fort, jodhpur was also renovated.. I'll get the pictures for you....

jodhpur is a great historic place....jodhpur2 there is a place in jaipur which i dun remember.....its all about lighting a candle in a dark room with a dome as a roof and u get a view of million candle lights on the dome......can u help me in identifying the place./?

[Jodhpur2]

that's the sheesh mahal in amber/amer fort.... it was currenetly renvoated so now it looks much better there is an amazing pic of that on flickr...

[engineer.akash]

Originally Posted by Jodhpur2

that's the sheesh mahal in amber/amer fort.... it was currenetly renvoated so now it looks much better there is an amazing pic of that on flickr...

oh...thanks

[engineer.akash]

History beckons Tipu's armoury

TNN 11 July 2009, 11:57pm IST

Bangalore : It is easier to follow precedents than create history. When, after several procedures and much brainstorming, Tipu's
armoury in Srirangapatna will finally be transplanted, it will be a new chapter in Indian history as nothing similar has ever been attempted.

But this is exactly what makes it difficult to estimate the cost of shifting the monument, which lies in the middle of the proposed Bangalore-Mysore double track, a long-pending project.

The only other example of a monument being shifted was in Egypt in the late 1980s, when a temple was relocated to prevent it from being consumed by the Nile river's flooding. The complex was broken into parts, bricks and pillars and reassembled in the new place.

Archaeologists say breaking up Tipu's armoury is out of the question. There is a problem with the roof and structural engineers have found it cannot be broken. The monument is likely to be moved as a whole to preserve it.

It will most probably be packed up and transplanted using an iron sheet to move the structure. Despite the mystery that surrounds Egypt's pyramids, it is believed the huge blocks of stone used to build them were transported to the site using logs of wood. A similar mode is being mulled over in Srirangapatna.

Who will undertake the operation is yet to be finalized. While the railways will bear the cost, the state government and the archeaological department are the other two agencies involved. The weight of the structure, from wall thickness and other dimensions, is yet to be calculated. Moving the monument along with the foundation is likely to further escalate the cost.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/N...ow/4767407.cms

[zenith_suv]

Jama Masjid plan gets nod

But Long-Awaited DUAC Green Light Comes With Riders

Ruhi Bhasin & Richi Verma | TNN

New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) can now breathe easy. After four failed attempts, the civic agency finally managed to get the nod from Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) for their controversial Jama Masjid redevelopment plan. Much of their original plan which boasted of underground parkings and a heritage mall has been done away with as both DUAC and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) insisted on minimum intervention in the sensitive zone to preserve its historical glory.

MCD is yet to get a feasibility study done by IITD in the Jama Masjid area according to Delhi High Court orders. ‘‘At present, only the master plan for Jama Masjid redevelopment has been approved by DUAC. Individual projects pertaining to Meena Bazar, landscaping of the area, etc, will have to be sent to DUAC for approval again. To begin work tenders can only be floated after we receive the DUAC minutes formally,’’ said a senior MCD official.

DUAC chairman K T Ravindran said they have given MCD overall approval for the layout plan as the civic agency had finally come around to adopt the ‘minimum intervention’ idea. ‘‘The agency has agreed to do away with underground parkings. We have approved the plan on the condition that they come back to us to get separate clearances for each component of the plan,’’ said Ravindran.

ASI has also laid down three conditions while giving MCD the go-ahead. ‘‘We have stipulated that no parking should be made in the area, there should be more facilities for the common man and lastly, the overall development work in Jama Masjid should coincide with our conservation plans for Red Fort,’’ said a senior ASI official.

According to DUAC’s directions, the market/shops around Dargah Sheikh Kalimullah should be singlestorey structures built at the level of the ground around Meena Bazar to avoid any obstruction of the visual field between Red Fort and Jama Masjid precinct. ‘‘The proposal discussed needs to be vetted by ASI by taking cognizance of the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) of the world heritage site of Red Fort and Sunheri Masjid,’’ said an official.

DUAC has recommended that the dome-like structure proposed at Meena Bazar should be removed and the service utility duct proposed across the Jama Masjid precinct be shifted to Subhas Marg. ‘‘Fire station and related facilities must be the part of the proposal,’’ said an official. The entrance to the bus bay should be minimum 75m from the intersection of two roads,’’ added DUAC officials.

Earlier, both DUAC and ASI had expressed reservations about the project and warned MCD that Jama Masjid area now comes under the buffer zone of the world heritage site — Red Fort — and therefore, no major changes can take place to disturb the area’s historical significance.
MAKEOVER MINUS TRIMMINGS

The market/ shops around Dargah Sheikh Kalimullah should be single-storey structures built at the same level as that of the ground around Meena Bazar

The dome-like structure proposed at Meena Bazar should be removed

The service utility duct as proposed across the Jama-Masjid precinct should be shifted to Subhas Marg

Fire station & related facilities must be part of the proposal

ASI has stipulated that no parking should be made in the area. There should be facilities for the common man & Jama Masjid work should coincide with plans for Red Fort

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...Mode=HTML&GZ=T

[Mahratta]

Good news!

[IU]

Cheers to that.

Here's a never been seen before image of the masjid taken during the 1920's-

Copyright Life Magazine

[Marathaman]

^Looks kinda sandy. Where's Chandni chowk ??

[IU]

A half a KM to the right.