BENGALURU: The majestic building on Palace Road, which houses the office of the Chief Postmaster General (CPMG) of Karnataka Circle, will be handed over to the State Archaeology, Museums and Heritage Department for restoration and maintenance purposes. ‘Beaulieu’, which translates to ‘Beautiful Place’, was built in the late 1860s by Lancelot Ricketts, who held many posts in the Mysore Commission and served as the first editor of the Mysore Gazette.
An MoU was signed recently between the postal department and the commissioner of the department in Mysuru, Sharda Sampath, chief postmaster general, Karnataka Circle, told CE. “We have a civil engineering section in our department that can carry out such restoration work, but we decided to do it through professionals with expertise in this specific field,” she said.
K Raveendran, director of Postal Services, Karnataka Circle, said, “The Indian Postal Department is keen on preserving its heritage structures and will be funding the cost of `34 lakh for the work. A sum of `25 lakh was handed over on Nov. 17 to the Commissioner of the State Heritage Department.” The building is unique in many aspects, stressed G D Bhat, Assistant Director, Buildings, Karnataka Circle.
“According to the state archives, it was built on 24 acres of land and is a fine ‘Period’ building in a garden setting. The entrance porch has a flat arc on the north and south sides with three flat arches in front.
There are three levels of perforated parapets. It is further embellished with four gables (triangular ends) and bays on the east and west front with intricate wooden fretwork.”The office of the CPMG began functioning here in 1966. “It is still in a good condition and the office continues to function even today from there. However, it has become very old and there is water seepage at a few places. Hence, we have decided to carry out restoration of the building to preserve its grandeur,” he said.