Hurrah! Town Hall gets new lease of life

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Here is good news for the heritage-lovers as the municipal corporation, which is the custodian of the medieval period heritage structure - Town Hall, has kept its promise (or word) of giving a new lease of life as the preservation and renovation works are in the last leg.

Civic officials sans vision to save heritage

Town Hall had fallen victim to the whims of the officers as they deprive of vision to protect the hall. The major threats include the entry of bats inside the heritage, the emergence of an unpleasant experience due to the splitting of excreta on the walls by bats, the development of tiny peepal trees on the parapet walls, leakages in the conical-shaped roof, and clogging of water on the terrace. The heritage also bore the brunt of the heavy rainfall amid strong winds as the ceiling roof of Manglorean tiles was damaged in September 2021.

“The open vertical windows were the main source for the entry of bats inside the heritage. Our contractor was pressed to discuss with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI, Aurangabad Circle) on fixation of steel mesh at Ellora Caves. We find that steel mesh is not cost-effective as the municipal corporation is reeling under a financial crunch.

There are 14 vertical windows, where each is of 3 feet x 5.6 feet in size. They were open for decades. The bats' menace increased with the passing of time. We preferred fixing plane-designed steel frames with a white transparent sheet on them. The sealing has been done in door format where one can open the latch to clean up the balconies and again lock them after work. The transparent sheet is not obstructing the sunlight coming inside the heritage,” stressed a civic officer.

The deputy engineer (Zone I) K M Katkar was not available to comment on details as his number was switched off. Town Hall renovation was the last assignment before his retirement recently, it is learnt.

The curator Hansraj Bansal said, “The biscuit colour has been painted in the interiors, while light brown colour is painted on outside walls of the heritage. The terrace has also been water-proofed using chemicals. The clogging of water on the terrace would now be a thing of the past as the size water outlets (4-inch pipes) have been replaced with bigger ones. The electrification works including hanging of 'jhumars' have also been done. Meanwhile, last-minute preservation works are going on. The heritage structure is an epicentre of art and cultural activities."

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Taking cognizance of the stories published in Lokmat Times (in 2021-22), the past civic chief A K Pandey has directed the assistant commissioner (tourism) and the deputy engineer concerned to take immediate action. Later on, the current municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari ensured the Town Hall preservation works are done appropriately under the consultation of Heritage Conservation Committee chairman Jayant Deshpande.