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Corporations/ Associations/ Others | West Bengal - India | PID: 171319
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The West Bengal government has decided to strengthen the Tuscan pillars of the historic Town Hall building here and make it earthquake-proof, officials said
This will be a part of the building's restoration project, they said
The decision of strengthening the 204-year-old building was taken, on the basis of the advice given by experts from IIT Roorkee, since the city witnessed a series of mild tremors in the last couple of years, a senior official at the Public Works Department (PWD) said
There has been a series of mild earthquakes in the city in the past few years. Experts from IIT Roorkee have prepared a detailed report for restoring the structure, and the decision for earthquake-proofing is based on it," the official told
The PWD would put fibre-reinforced concrete around the giant six Tuscan pillars, as a part of the strengthening process, as advised by the IIT experts
We will be using steel to fix the roof with pillars to ensure that the building is strong enough to withstand an earthquake," he said
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will complete the entire process within 18 months
The civic authority has dismantled the museum, Kolkata Panorama in the Town Hall
Popularly known as India's first hi-tech story-telling museum, it used to depict the evolution of the city
There is a plan to change the entire lighting of the building also, the officer said
The Town Hall, designed by architect-engineer Major General John Garstin, was paid for by public lottery
There were problems of flooding and subsidence in the building even after its inauguration in the early 19th century
In 1867, the Town Hall came under the custody of the Calcutta Municipality, now known as the Kolkata Municipal Corporation
It was partly renovated in 1897
The two-storied building was earlier used for public meetings, receptions, balls, and concerts
| Updated on: 15 - Dec - 2017
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