2024-09-22 18:10:21 :
A 150-year-old building in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, is being renovated at a cost of Rs 27 crore. The building was once a famous hotel during the British era, but now houses the offices of the Municipal Corporation. The renovation of the building is scheduled to be completed by December 2024 and will be showcased as a heritage site during the Kumbh Mela to be held in early 2025. However, earlier there were plans to demolish the building and rebuild it from scratch. Which was not approved.
“The decision to preserve the building was taken on the advice of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. The ASI recommended that the building be preserved as a heritage site,” Prayagraj Municipal Corporation advisor Suraj VS told PTI.
“The Great Northern Hotel was the first building”
He told reporters that old records showed that the Prayagraj building, which was built around 1865, was earlier known as the Great Northern Hotel.
Vaibhav Maini, Joint Secretary of INTACH, highlighted the historical importance of the building. He said, “American writer Mark Twain had stayed at this hotel during his visit to Allahabad in 1896. But later during the British rule, the building was converted into an administrative building.
Based on the recommendations of ASI and IIT Bombay, renovation work of the building is going on at a cost of Rs 27 crore. Under the renovation work carried out by Savani Heritage in Mumbai, the building has retained traditional materials and original drawings during the restoration process.
The building is being repaired with these items
The official said that instead of modern cement and sand, the building was made with a mixture of lime, sukhhi, sand, berrin, jaggery, urad dal and fenugreek, which makes it durable.
Municipal Commissioner Chandra Mohan Garg acknowledged the historical importance of the building to Prayagraj and said that after the renovation, the building will attract people to Prayagraj as lakhs of people are expected to come to the Sangam in Prayagraj Is during the Mahakumbh.
Chief Engineer Satish Kumar told PTI, “The renovation work is expected to be completed by December 2024.” Municipal Corporation Councillor Anand Gildiyal said the building was constructed on the land of Nazul in Kamauri, a former village in the Civil Lines area.
Building roof collapse in 2020
Let us tell you that plans to demolish the building began after the roof of one of the rooms in the building collapsed in December 2020, but the ASI refused to approve the demolition and suggested renovation. Subsequently, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay was approached for the project.
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