'Finish revamp work of Town Hall in 3 months'

KOLKATA: Firhad Hakim, Chairman Board of Administrators Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), on Friday asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to complete pending work related to restoration of Town Hall in three months. Hakim along with Member, Board of Administrators, Debasish Kumar and other senior officials paid a visit to Town Hall after there were complaints of clod caving in from the outer portion of the heritage building.

"The work for restoration of Town Hall is about to get completed. However, rain water has accumulated on the roof. I have asked the engineers to take measures so that rain water does not seep in through the roof. The PWD department is doing this work and is being assisted by IIT Roorkee," Hakim said after holding a meeting.

He also instructed the engineers to ensure that incidents of clod caving in should not happen and proper leveling to be done in places which have been dampened by heavy rains.

"If further materials are needed for plugging the loopholes, we will ensure the availability of such materials but the renovation should be completed in three months' time,"added Hakim.

The restoration of the Town Hall that was made in Roman-Doric style in 1813 became absolutely necessary because the heritage building had suffered natural damages with time. "The renovation work that started in 2017 has been carried out in a way so that the heritage is preserved completely. We have made it retrofit so that it is earthquake proof," a senior official of KMC said. As it was constructed 200 years back, the building is not fit to withstand earthquakes.

"We will be holding several meetings and programmes related to felicitation of people at the Town Hall once the restoration is over," Hakim said.