19th-century clock tower in Coimbatore gets facelift

COIMBATORE: Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has begun renovating the century-old clock tower in Town Hall in Coimbatore in collaboration with Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI) without disturbing the age-old structure. The civic body officials are also carrying out NMT corridor works near the clock tower.The clock tower, which is popularly called the ‘Manikoondu’, is getting a facelift as the civic body has begun renovating the facility. Established in 1877, Manikoondu is the oldest clock tower in the district.

Back in the days, people used to calculate the time by checking the position of the Sun. As urbanisation gained pace, the importance of accuracy grew and watches started becoming an essential part of people’s life. However, not everyone could afford it due to the cost of the watches in the past. In this situation, the iconic clock was brought from England and donated to the Coimbatore city by the sons of Rao Bahadur AT Thiruvengadaswamy Mudaliar, who was the then chairperson of the Coimbatore Municipality in 1877.

Gugan from CREDAI said, “The clock tower is being fully renovated by CREDAI. Currently, we have not fixed any estimate costs for renovation as we would like to give the clock tower the best possible facelift without any fund constraints. We are plastering the damaged portions, removing the old paints and giving touch-ups wherever necessary. The building will be painted in the same colour and no changes will be made to the iconic structure. We are planning to set up an open garden on the premises as well. Also, the clock is now running and is in good condition. We have also got an AMC for it. The works will likely be finished by the end of this month.”

Many people, including the convenor of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) had raised concerns over the utilisation of cement, concrete and other materials to renovate the heritage structure.CCMC Deputy Commissioner Dr M Sharmila told TNIE, “No cement or concrete is being used in the renovation works. We are using the same materials which were used during its construction. Also, after establishing the garden and finishing off the NMT corridor works, we shall take a call on whether to allow the public inside the heritage building.”