Kolkata: The old Sadar Court building, Sudder Diwany Adawlut, one of the oldest surviving brick-and-mortar structures in Kolkata that now houses the office of the Indian Museum’s director, is set to be restored.
After being constructed in 1772, the building located behind the sprawling structure that houses the Indian Museum galleries, has had many additions and alterations, which have reportedly accelerated its decay.Now, these changes will be removed and the building will be restored to its old glory. Indian Museum officials have sought the expertise of IIT-Madras engineers to undertake the challenging project. Sudder Diwany Adawlut is the oldest in the heritage precinct that houses the majestic Indian Museum, the stately headquarters of the Geological Survey of India, and the industrial section of the Botanical Survey of India. “A team, led by Arun Menon of IIT-Madras, is preparing the masterplan for the restoration. While the central public works department (CPWD) will carry out the restoration following the masterplan, we will have a conservation architect to ensure zero-deviation from the conservation principles of heritage buildings,” said Indian Museum director A D Chaudhury.
The museum authorities also want to do away with the unnecessary additions and structures that have come up at different points of time. “Often, structures have come up to suit some contemporary purposes. We want to get rid of them,” Chaudhury added.
“During the restoration, the director’s office will be temporarily shifted to the building next to the auditorium, where the Anthropological Survey of India used to have its office. After the restoration, the director’s office will be shifted back to this building. The restoration will involve original materials, like lime mortar,” said Sayan Bhattacharya, deputy director of Indian Museum.
Earlier, a former director of Indian Museum had instructed the construction of a few brick-and-cement pillars beside the old Corinthian pillars to support the portico. “Instead of adding structural stability, the pillars caused damage due to dissimilar construction materials used. Such retro-fitting without experts’ opinion often proves detrimental to old structures,” said an official of National Building Construction Corporation, which restored the Indian Museum building, untouched.