Wadiyars bat for conservation of Mysuru Palace with govt assistance

President of the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar (SDNR) Foundation Pramoda Devi Wadiyar said that conservation of Mysuru Palace should be taken up before it is too late.

Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, she said that the foundation has already taken up conservation of the residential portion of the palace and works are almost complete in Gandhada Thotti portion.

108-yr-old palace

It has to be noted that the Mysuru Palace (construction began in 1897) was almost completed in 1912. The approximate age of the palace is 108 years.

Even though the Palace Board earns crores of rupees through gate collection from tourists, the government has not taken up any conservation or restoration work.

As petitions regarding the Mysore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1998, are before the court, status quo has to be maintained on its occupation. However, there is no bar on conserving the palace.

Wadiyar said, since the construction of the Mysuru Palace, no conservation or restoration work has been carried out, even though minor repairs have been done.

It has to be recalled that a minor portion of the roof, on the left side of the Palace, collapsed on September 23, 2019, following heavy downpour on September 22, 2019.

Gandhada Thotti

She displayed a video of the conservation works at Gandhada Thotti portion, carried out by experts. It was funded by SDNR Foundation.

“At several places, the walls have cracked, paint and colour have faded away, wooden reinforcement and fittings have become weak. The roof has also become weak. Rainwater seeps inside the palace. There is a need for conservation of the entire palace,” she said.

“We have written to the chief secretary of Karnataka government, about taking up conservation works. We have got a positive response. The modalities need to be worked out. We are ready to execute conservation works with SDNR Foundation funds. But, the government should reimburse the expenses later. If the works are carried out, there will be no issues for at least 20 years,” she said.

Wadiyar said, she is ready to restore and conserve heritage structures such as Lansdowne Building and Devaraja Market building, portions of which have collapsed a few years back. “If the government delegates the works to us, we will restore the structures, without harming their heritage value,” she said.