Mysore: Following reports of cracks in the historical Silver Jubilee Clock Tower or Dodda Gadiyara at Gandhi Square in city, the Heritage Committee will submit a report to the District Administration on the measures to be taken to restore the iconic structure. The Committee will prepare a Detailed Project Report on the restoration.
Though the 75-foot tall structure is safe, cracks have developed in the area where the bell is situated at the top portion. There is a 5.5 feet bell on top of the tower and it has stopped ringing since the last 30 years. The weight of the French-made bell is around 920 kg. The arch of the structure has cracks owing to rusting of the iron used in the construction process, said officials.
The cracks were discovered by the Heritage Committee when the members inspected the structure recently. Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G. Sankar said that the MCC Commissioner had proposed to him that the hourly chiming of the clock must be restored to its past glory.
“Following this, a team of engineers and Heritage Committee members inspected the structure when the cracks were discovered. We do not know the reason for this and we will have a discussion with the Heritage Committee that has now been asked to submit a report,” he said.
The DC added that Prof. N.S. Rangaraju of the Heritage Committee will suggest the technologies to be used to restore the cracks and accordingly, the Mysuru City Corporation and the Department of Archaeology and Museums will take up the works.
The beautiful heritage clock tower was installed by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar in 1927 after completing 25 years of his rule and hence in its memory the structure was named Silver Jubilee Clock Tower. It is 75 ft. in height. But the boards installed providing detailed information has faded and rusted and needs restoration.
The tower was installed on August 8, 1927 and the construction expense of this historical clock tower was Rs. 7,500, which was built in just six months. On four sides at the tower, the clock establishment, date, month, year and other details were engraved in Sanskrit, Kannada, English and Persian languages in marble stone in golden letters. The sign boards or plaques are now in a pathetic condition with fading letters.
When the clock was striking, the sound could be heard from a distance of nearly two kms. However, the chiming of the clock has stopped from over 30 years.
This post was published on May 11, 2019 6:29 pm