There was a time when the chimes from the Silver Jubilee Clock Tower used to be heard from a long distance. It was stopped to prevent damage to the heritage structure which is reported to have developed cracks and needs immediate conservation.
The French-made bell weighs around 920 kg.
A panel consisting of civil engineers and heritage specialists, had inspected the tower a decade ago and recommended resumption of the chime. The committee observed that the ringing did not lead to any vibrations in the columns supporting the structure. The cracks had appeared only on additional structures, constructed for architectural purposes, and they had no bearing on the columns supporting the weight of the tower, they pointed out.
A report from the committee said that the sound from the bell was not the reason for the cracks and favoured resumption of the chime. It was observed that some cracks were perhaps because of the age of the building.
Horologist Chandrashekar Iyer, who was part of the expert team, told The Hindu , “If the authorities are not keen on resuming the chimes, fearing damage to the structure from the vibrations, then they must restore the structure immediately to resume ringing of the clock’s bell.”
A panel consisting of civil engineers and heritage experts had inspected the tower a decade ago
