GPO to clean up historical tunnel

Discovered by MiD DAY in October, the structure will be cleaned of muck, debris to allow ASI to assess its historical importance

GPO to clean up historical tunnel

Discovered by MiD DAY in October, the structure will be cleanedu00a0of muck, debris to allow ASI to assess its historical importance

ONE of the city's hidden treasures a tunnel running under the GPO which was discovered by MiD DAY in October will finally be freed of muck and debris to assess its historical importance.

The move was initiated after an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) inspection report said that any conclusion about the structure could only be reached once the debris was removed.

The clean-up drive was initiated after an ASI inspection report said that any conclusion about the structure could only be reached once the debris was removed

"Chief Post Master General Faz-Ur-Rehman has directed the civil wing of the postal department to clean up the tunnel and remove all the filth and debris accumulated over the years," said Postal Director (HQ) Abha Singh.

"The civil wing will float a tender in January and we will ensure that whoever wins the tender has expertise in handling heritage structures.

If, at any point, the officials at the civil wing feel they need technical assistance, we will request the ASI to assist us in supervisory work," she added.

Archaeologist Mayur Thackrey of ASI, who carried out the structure's inspection and submitted a detailed report to the GPO a few months ago, said the ASI cannot deduce its function or a definite time of construction until the mud inside and around it is systematically cleared.

"Our current findings are based on hypotheses. The picture will be clear only when the debris is cleared, which the GPO will have to make arrangements for," said Thackrey.

Experts' take

Heritage Committee Chairman Dinesh Afzalpurkar said, "It is good that the GPO has taken the initiative of carrying out the clean-up drive.

If the archeological department finds evidence of the heritage importance of the structure and says it is worth preserving, we will make necessary recommendations to the state government.

We will ask them to pass a notification to declare the passageway a salient feature of the GPO, which is already a Grade I heritage building."

Historian Sharda Dwivedi said, "It is a great thing that the GPO is doing.
u00a0
Only after the entire area is cleaned up will we know what the underground chamber was used for. It could be a century-old stormwater reservoir and, if so, the GPO can use it to harvest rainwater."

Dwivedi has based her hypothesis on research she has undertaken at the Maharashtra State Archives.

She came across correspondence between the structure's architect, the Public Works Department and the Bombay Municipal Corporation.

Rs 5 lakh
The estimated cost of the u00a0clean-up exercise, which will be shouldered by the postal department

City's Pride
The GPO building near CST is a beautiful 20th century British colonial edifice of the Indo-Saracenic style. Designed and conceptualised by John Begg, consulting architect to the then Government of Bombay, this architectural gem is built prominently of black basalt with a dressing of yellow Kurla stone and white stones of Dhrangdra. Construction of the structure started From 1904 to 1913, it took at least nine years to finish its construction.