In February 2020 the Tamil Nadu State government sanctioned Rs.19.3 crore for the express purpose of renovating popular Kuthirai vandi Court on Avinashi road, Coimbatore city, besides other old heritage court buildings at Kanchipuram, Salem and Nagercoil
 |
| Visiting HC judges at Kuthirai vandi court, Coimbatore thehindu.com |
.jpg) |
| Kuthirai Vandi Court (horse-drawn cart court), Coimbatore facebook.com |
As for Kuthirai vandi Court, it is a British-era building where the first Magistrate Court was housed to dispose of countless ligation from the people residing here. PWD, under whose direction the renovation work was undertaken, was keen to use eco-friendly construction materials, matching those used centuries ago to retain the aesthetic and heritage aspects of the structures.
With respect to Kuthirai vandi court where the restoration work began in 2021, the conservation engineers carefully used proportionately blended and well-ground lime and jaggery as good bonding agent. This technique was followed for centuries in the construction of buildings during the Nayak and Maratha period in the Thanjavur Delta region. This building that remained unused for decades was heavily damaged due to overgrowth of vegetation and plants that promoted root-wedging of the structure. This caused extensive seepage and made the structure weak. It was built in 1863 on a huge plot of 2.6 acres; it is a single story building with high ceiling supported by huge columns.
 |
| restoration of Kuthirai Vandi Court, Coimbatore, TN, simplicity.in |
 |
| restoration of Kuthirai Vandi Court, Coimbatore, TN, simplicity.in |
In the third week of July 2022 a delegation of six judges from the Madras High Court, Chennai inspected the Coimbatore District Court where the final phase of renovation work was on. It was mentioned that the present work would be completed soon. The work on the Madras terrace building got delayed because of COvid-19 Pandemic threat that overwhelmed the world including India.
The dilapidated building, once restored back to old world charm, will be turned into a museum. The delegation also visited the adjacent vacant site on the court campus where a five-floor building was planned to be built with better amenities and large court rooms for the benefit of the public.
