An expert team comprising civil engineering experts inspected the Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building on Thursday.
The team was led by R. Jagdish, member of Karnataka Task Force Committee and former professor of Civil Engineering from UVCE in Bengaluru. The team went around the collapsed portion, inspected the adjacent building, and have sought test reports that went into diagnosing the condition of the structure before restoration work was started.
District in charge Minister H.C. Mahadevappa also visited the site later in the day and was briefed by the task force committee member and other engineers, including Syed Shakeeb Ur Rahman, principal, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, a representative of Indian Heritage City Network and others.
Prof. Rahman told The Hindu that the organisation vested with the restoration works has been asked to submit the diagnostic test reports and other detailed plans for their analysis. In addition, samples from the site have been taken to SJCE Civil Engineering Department laboratory for tests. “The bricks are of fine quality, but the mortar seems to have lost its bonding property,” he added.
The laboratory results are expected to be ready in three days and the committee will submit its final report to the government within a week. Though an invitation has been extended to National Centre for Safety of Heritage Structures, IIT Madras, the team was preoccupied with assessing the damage to heritage structures in Myanmar and hence, its visit was delayed.
However, a senior official in MCC said the report of the task force committee was sufficient for the government to take a final call on whether to continue with restoration or opt for demolition.
The team also collected samples from Lansdowne Building. Mayor B.L. Bhyrappa was present.
