Another heritage building in Puducherry has come under the unsafe tag. The office of Puducherry Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has recently developed cracks, forcing the office staff to move to the another building.
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) was called upon by the Public Works Department to assess the damage. Arul, an INTACH architect, told The Hindu that a beam in the PTDC building has come down due to ageing. “This beam has to be replaced. Two high beams have to be built since there is an increased load on the building. In addition to this, all the false ceiling has to be removed,” he said. He noted that the heritage buildings should not have false ceilings. “False ceilings are not good for the health of the building. A part of the roof has been damaged due to termite attack. This portion has to be rebuilt,” he said.
Tourism Department Director R.Mounissamy said that INTACH has been tasked to repair the damage and restore the building. “The building is more than 100 years old. Even the minor cracks need immediate attention as it is a heritage building. The INTACH will assess the damage and provide an estimate to repair and restore the damaged part of the building,” he said.
He added that the PTDC office staffs have been moved to Old Court building. The PTDC building was used as a Continental Villa for the VIPs to stay during the French regime. It is considered as grade III heritage building now.
