The over 175-year-old building, one of the oldest structures in Bengaluru, is crying for attention. The building, built by the British, now houses one of the offices of the Department of Posts which oversees the functioning of 75 post offices in the East division of the City.
The State Tourism department has proposed to help restore and maintain heritage buildings in the City, through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives of corporate firms. The Karnataka Postal Circle has approached the department, offering to put its building up for adoption. There is also a proposal to convert this building into a museum.
The building houses the office of the Senior Superintendent of Post Offices (SSPO), Bengaluru East Division, and the residence of the Director of Posts in 5,752 sq ft area. The structure, built in the Dravidian style using lime mortar, has ‘Madras terrace’ and ‘Mangalore tile’ roofing.
According to a letter written by the former SSPO in July 2006 to the Chief Post Master General (CPMG), the building needs immediate attention.
Extensive repair works
“As the building is very old, it has lost its integrity due to exposure to the vagaries of nature. Extensive repair works are needed. Despite minor repair works, it has not been possible to plug the seepage of rainwater and the decay of the indoor supports of the roof. As proper maintenance and repairs were not done in the past, repairing the building has become more difficult now. Restoration costs will be very high. If the building is declared a heritage building, then extensive repair works can be undertaken and the structure can be restored to its old glory,” reads the letter.
M S Ramanujan, CPMG, Karnataka Circle, said that his department lacked the expertise to maintain the heritage building, and hence putting it up for adoption and converting it into a museum. Except for the philately museum in New Delhi, there is no other museum belonging to the department in the country.
Tourism Director G Sathyavathi said that a project implementation committee headed by the Tourism minister will approve the project proposal, once the Expression of Interest is garnered from the corporate firm, along with the views of the DoP.