Clock tower to get ‘ white look’ back
GPO BUILDING RESTORATION Postal dept ensuring that work is carried out as per heritage building norms
LUCKNOW: The clock tower at General Post Office (GPO) wears a different look for now, but it would soon get back its original hue. Officials of the postal department say the structure - that has been plastered as part of maintenance work - would be restored to its ‘white look’.
“The brown colour is because of the primer. The building’s outer surface has been plastered as the old plaster had started peeling off. The postal department’s civil wing has ensured that the work is carried out as per the heritage building norms and is thus making use of the prescribed and permissible material,” said Vivek Kumar Daksh, director, postal headquarters UP circle.
The building is in possession of the postal department and has been housing the GPO for over seven decades now, he said. Maintenance works have been carried out at the building from time to time. The building’s interiors also underwent a massive renovation in 2009.
Though the structure is not on the list of preserved monuments despite being a heritage structure, officials at the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) said, “If the building is not on the protected monuments list, there aren’t any restrictions for carrying out renovation work. However, renovation or any alteration to the building can be done keeping in mind the norms prescribed for heritage buildings.”
The officials said the agency undertaking such activities on heritage buildings can seek help and advice from the ASI.
The GPO building has a long history dating back to the British times. Yogesh Praveen, an expert on Lucknow’s history and culture, said: “The building served as the ‘Ring Theatre’ and was a place of entertainment for the British. Plays, performances, films etc were screened and Indians had strictly restricted entry.”
The building then served as the court where hearings of the Kakori episode were conducted, said Praveen. “It was here that the death sentence for Chandra Shekhar Azad, Ram Prasad Bismil, Bhagat Singh, Ashfaquallah Khan etc was announced and that led to fury among Indians. People broke glasses, furniture and damaged the building. Looking at this, the British decided not to reconstruct the structure and divided it into two parts - park and building. The GPO was then shifted to the building from the Begum Kothi in Janpath to its current place in 1929.”