Mysore/Mysuru: In a perpetuating exercise towards the conservation of the now defunct Lansdowne Building, opposite City Bus Stand in Mysuru, a team of experts from the The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) have been collecting the samples of construction materials of yore.

A make-shift machinery, comprising a motor pump and metal rods, is used to dig deep into the surface in front of the Lansdowne building, a 133-year-old heritage structure, built using lime and mortar, to collect samples of the sand/soil, through an outlet pipe, to study the strength of the building. Along with this, the samples of foundation bricks used in the construction of pillars are also being collected, but in a conventional method by using a hammer and other sharp-edged materials, with the help of a deft-handed mason.

The bricks shall be pieced, apart from retaining some of the brick blocks, to test their strength to withstand the weather conditions, in a laboratory, it is said.

The INTACH team, led by retired Prof. Raghunath and comprising experts Siddarth and others, is supervising the process, with MCC Zonal Development Officer Venkatesh, Junior Engineers K.R. Chandrashekar and Mohan and 4 members of MCC Abhaya team, assisting them.

A similar method will be followed at Devaraja Market building too, another heritage structure of significance, on Sayyaji Rao Road, which has partially collapsed. The very exercise is collectively aimed at preparing a report, on the directions of the Supreme Court. In December 2024, the Supreme Court issued an interim order following a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by heritage advocate and author G. Sathyanarayana (popularly known as Gouri Satya) and Raja Chandra, the son-in-law of late Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar.

The SLP was filed against the Karnataka High Court’s judgement dated Aug. 8, 2023, in Writ Petition No. 15215/2020 (PIL). The petition sought to restrain authorities from demolishing or reconstructing the Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building, citing their classification as heritage structures under Section 2(1ea) of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961 and their inclusion in the Master Plan-2031 for the Mysuru-Nanjangud Local Planning Area (Revision-II).

A Bench, comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, ordered a halt to any demolition or reconstruction work and directed that notices be served to INTACH and ASI. The matter was re-listed for hearing on Jan. 8, 2025.

The State Govt. had recently floated a tender worth Rs. 35.95 crore for reconstructing the Lansdowne Building. In response, some individuals moved the Supreme Court challenging the Karnataka High Court’s ruling, prompting the Apex Court to seek expert opinions from INTACH and ASI.

The SC will take a final decision — whether to raze or restore the structure — based on these expert reports, aiming to ensure a balanced approach to conservation and development of Mysuru’s built heritage.