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| Restored heritage bldg. Bengaluru gate. twitter.com |
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| restoration of heritage Bengaluru gate. prajavani.net |
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| Restoration of British-era Bengaluru gate, KA.btimes.co.in |
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| The 150-year old Bangalore Gate, deccanherald.com |
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| Bengaluru gate in ruins .thehindu.com |
The 100-year old Bangalore Gate (built in the late 1800s (?) n Chamarajpet on the premises of the Karnataka State Reserve Police headquarters near Royan Circle on Mysore Road that had remained in ruins for decades was taken up for restoration in 2020 with private participation. Consisting of several cloister type arches and a big dome in the center, with several damaged doors and windows, the building was structurally in a poor state with gaping cracks all over the wall and stressed roof promoting water leak during rains. The INTACH approached the difficult task of restoration work in a systematic manner as follows:
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| .Bengaluru gate in ruins 2019 btimes.co.in |
02.This was followed by a protective stone flagging around the plinth and removal of old lime plaster on walls.
03. The unstable roof and parts of the building had to be removed part by part without which reduction was a tough one.
04. Though the soil and foundation of the gate were good, the structure was heavily damaged due to prolonged neglect and growth of plants and trees. Root-wedging caused by a network of tree roots that penetrated a large section of the roof and wall was the main culprit.
05. The removal of a large peepal tree with roots intruding into many parts of the roof and walls thus weakening the British-era structure was a tough one, INTACH took a few weeks to remove the huge tree branches without damaging the structure.
06. The condition of the structure warranted structural strengthening before the start of the restoration work.
07. Before major restoration work, the INTACH engineers successfully strengthened the structure under the guidance of a UK based company Helifix (operating from Gujarat), that specialized in using flexible stainless steel rods (6 mm size) to strengthen stone and brick masonry buildings.
08. With respect to old Bengaluru gate, the advantage of structural stitching was there was no need to dismantle a large part of the old structure and the cracks could be properly plugged. .
09. The old walls were re-plastered in traditional lime mortar as it was done in the past.
10. As for old Madras terrace roof, upon careful removal of old brickwork, plastering, and deteriorated rafters, new strong rafters in quality wood were set in a secure manner along with Queen closer (half-cut) brickbats on the rafters with lime mortar as the binding medium. Lime waterproofing coats were applied on the terrace and parapets to retard water soaking and leak.
11.The old doors and windows were restored in teakwood, maintaining their authenticity and heritage design
Many historians believe the old Bangalore Gate was a sort of check post/ Octroi Post, to keep an eye on the movement of people and horse carts between Bengaluru and Mysuru, besides collecting toll on goods entering the city
The 150-year-old Bangalore Gate is back to its old charm and it is quite amazing that this heritage structure had all these decades withstood the vagaries of climatic changes and official apathy notwithstanding its dilapidated condition with big cracks, weakened walls and highly distressed roof in the midst of heaps of trash and debris indoors and outside.
https://www.ibtimes.co.in/bangalore-gate-finally-restored-150-yr-old-history-preserved-details-here-830250#:~:
http://www.navrangindia.in/2022/11/bangalore-gate-150-year-old-british-era.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtjbQ4uhRZM
