Mysuru: A team of heritage experts from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) visited Devaraja Market on Sayyaji Rao Road in the city on Thursday.

Two weeks ago, on May 30, the INTACH experts visited the Lansdowne Building, another heritage structure located near the Market.

The five-member expert team, headed by retired Prof. Raghunath, inspected every nook and corner of the heritage structure and assessed the stability of the building, which was constructed between 1886 and 1891, during the princely rule.

The visit was conducted in accordance with the recent Supreme Court (SC) directive, issued while hearing a Special Leave Petition (SLP). The Apex Court has sought comprehensive reports from both INTACH and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) after directing inspections of both the Lansdowne Building and Devaraja Market.

The team landed at the Market at about 9 am and inspected some of the stalls and collected the opinion of tenants there about the current status of the building. They made a keen observation of the seepage of rainwater and the stormwater drain facility to facilitate the flow of water.

The INTACH team was assisted by Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Junior Engineer Dhanush and Bill Collector Basavaraj. To support their analysis, the team recorded photographic and video documentation and collected sand samples from areas originally constructed using                              lime and mortar.

S. Mahadev, President of Devaraja Market Tenants Association, told Star of Mysore, “Devaraja Market is one of the significant contributions of the Maharajas of Mysore, which has provided a livelihood for thousands of vendors. The market structure stands strong still, but the inspections are still going on. We have been cooperating with the inspection, with due respect to the Court order.”