Nilgiris' colonial landmark shouts for attention, care

UDHAGAMANDALAM: It was the first building built in the Nilgiris and is in dire need of some care and attention. The Sullivan Memorial, considered the oldest colonial structure in Nilgiris, located at Kannerimukku village, about 2km from Kotagiri, needs maintenance and renovation. Exposure to constant rain has left its walls damp and peeling and the flooring is also damaged.
The building originally served as the house of John Sullivan, the first collector of Coimbatore to visit the Nilgiris, who is considered the father of modern Nilgiris. He built the house in May 1819 of brick and mortar with limestone and teak. The heritage building was given a facelift in 2012 by the government under the Hill Area Development Programme (HADP). Besides re-doing the flooring of the two-storied building, electrical wiring was put in.
Since then, the building has been left to the vagaries of nature and the government has not even given it a lick of paint. The pathway leading up to the house is broken, the walls damaged by damp and the neglect is weakening the structure, said a representative of Nilgiri Documentation Centre (NDC), which has been running the museum inside the building since 2006.
John Sullivan's bungalow was in ruins until 2002 when former district collector Supriya Sahu reconstructed it as close as possible to the original and declared it a tourist centre.
Since 2006, NDC, a private trust, has been taking care of the memorial of the founder of modern Nilgiris. A ten-member committee, including four government officials, was formed to take care of the maintenance of the government heritage building. The committee has not met in over a year.
"A heritage building that is more than 200 years old should be maintained periodically and the government should always ensure the stability and safety of the heritage building," said Dharmalingam Venugopal, director, NDC.
The first floor of the compact heritage building houses the Nilgiri Museum, which has a rare collection of old photographs and paintings of the Nilgiris, besides rare artifacts related to the tradition and culture of the Nilgiris.
Venugopal said letters were sent to the district collector, who heads the committee for maintenance of the heritage building, but there was no response.
P Sankar, Nilgiris collector, said, "The collector's discretionary funds cannot be used for the building as it falls under Kotagiri town panchayat. Those funds can only be used for village panchayats." Stating that HADP funds could be used for maintenance of the building, Sankar said, "NDC can approach HADP or the Kotagiri town panchayat for maintenance of the building."
One of the committee members for maintenance of building said, "NDC is only taking care of the building. It is the responsibility of the government to maintain the legendary first building of the Nilgiris for which the collector should convene a committee meeting and discuss the issue."