Surat: The work to conserve the 16th century Surat Castle on 72,000 square metre area, which is under way, will continue until December 2019.
The emphasis of the Surat Municipal Corporation is on giving the heritage structure strength and appearance similar to when it was first built. The old structure was mainly built with lime and load-bearing technology.
SMC is undertaking preservation and conservation of Surat Castle under Chowk Bazaar Heritage Square project and will be using new construction technology to provide extra strength to it. The conservation work is being taken up in two phases at an estimated cost of Rs20 crore. "A major portion of the fort is being redone with the use of old technology — lime and load-bearing. However, some portions of the fort require additional strength and here we are going to use modified new technology to give them extra strength and retain the appearance of the yore," conservation architect Sumesh Modi said.
Experts are working on old parts of the fort that are not structurally safe. They have thought of a combination of old and new technologies to avert loss of life and damage to the structure in future.
"We are doing this to increase the life load of the structure," Modi said. He said nearly 85% of the fort structure will be rebuilt with the use of old technology whereas in the remaining portions, a mixture of new and old technologies or either of two could be applied.
"The work of conservation is going on in full swing. Some portions of the old structure are being removed and will be restructured with strength," said an official from SMC.
File photo of the Surat Castle where the construction work is taking place
