Police rope in INTACH to revive Bangalore Gate

The Bangalore City Police will have the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) restore a dilapidated heritage structure in the city -- the Bangalore Gate situated inside the City Armed Reserves (CAR) premises in Chamrajpet.

City police commissioner Bhaskar Rao will chair a meeting with INTACH officials on Thursday to discuss and plan the restoration work.

“We have written to the government through appropriate channels for permission from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and other stakeholders for restoration of this heritage structure,” Rao told DH.

According to a senior official, the plan is to have the early 18th century structure restored with a library, a reading room and a park around it.

Rao, on August 18, tweeted a photograph of the Bangalore Gate: “Can anyone recommend a Heritage Architect who can help me restore this early 18 Century Bangalore Gate located in our City Armed Reserve (CAR) Compound in Chamrajpet...,” which went viral on social media. Thereafter, INTACH stepped in.

The area where the CAR headquarters is located in Chamrajpet was founded in 1892 and was christened Chamarajendrapete in 1894 after the King of Mysore Chamarajendra Wadiyar X. This is one of the oldest parts of Bengaluru built by the Mysore royals.

Historians claim Bangalore Gate used to be a check-post before one could enter the city where British soldiers used to track people movements.

The dilapidated structure has several doors and windows with a big dome on the roof in the centre.