Chennai: Rain leaves 3 heritage buildings in precarious condition

CHENNAI: The copious rain this monsoon has not just caused waterlogging and flooding in the city. It has also exposed the Centre’s apathy towards conserving the heritage structures it owns, sparking fears about their survival.
At Fort St George, the damage is significant. A portion of the wall in the already dilapidated Wellesley Building, built in 1798, collapsed during the first spell of rain in November.Fresh roots have begun mushrooming at the Kings Barrack, behind Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai at the Secretariat Complex. Built-in 1755, it sprawls over 1.1 lakh square feet.

The two ministry of defence (MoD)- owned heritage structures are sandwiched between the headquarters of the Chennai Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India, custodian of centrally protected monuments. Of the 50 heritage structures at the fort, 35 are under the MoD, 13 with the ASI and two with TN. Even among those under the ASI, six are MoD owned and are ‘maintained’ under an agreement reached in 1947, immediately after Independence.

On Anna Salai, the Bharat Insurance building, a stone’s throw from the landmark 14-storey LIC building, remains an icon of negligence. The 122-year-old building in the Indo-Saracenic style survived an attempt to raze it a decade ago, but could collapse if left abandoned for the next few years.
LIC has said it is preparing a proposal for renovation of the Bharat Insurance building and that work is expected to begin before March. “Our corporate office gave the nod for the renovation during the last financial year, but progress was delayed after the outbreak of Covid-19,” a senior LIC (south zone) official said.
At the British-era Royapuram station, the first Southern Railway headquarters was bulldozed last year and the authorities did not respond to TOI’s query on the demolition.
Writer and heritage enthusiast R Venkatesh says such buildings may disappear in 5-10 years, if steps are not taken to protect them. The moisture after rain helps roots grow leading to weakening of the building, he said. “Vegetation is extremely dangerous for heritage structures.”
While ASI sources said the Wellesley Building and Kings Barrack could be restored if they were given to the agency, M Ponnein Selvan, MoD’s PRO in Chennai, said the issue was taken to the knowledge of the defence estates officer.