Wide cracks spreading across Chennai's century-old Ripon Building spark concern

The Ripon Buildings, located near the Central Railway Station is one of the main heritage structures in the city.
Cracks are prominent  in the century-old  Ripon Building  | OMJASVIN M D
Cracks are prominent in the century-old Ripon Building | OMJASVIN M D

CHENNAI: Has the century-old Ripon Building developed cracks due to ongoing Chennai Metro Rail works, or due to official apathy in maintaining the heritage structure? City Corporation officials claim the cracks, visibly prominent ones, started appearing only after 2012 when the CMRL began works on the underground stretch.

These damages seem to have been left unattended till now.

Apart from the claims, no study has been conducted to ascertain the exact cause of damage.

The cracks have spread to the first and second floors of the building, where the offices of the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner are located, causing panic.

Just like the interior parts, the exteriors of the 106-year-old heritage structure is also full of cracks.

Apart from officials, hundreds of general public and foreign delegates visit the building. Any untoward incident could prove costly, say sources.

The Ripon Buildings, located near the Central Railway Station is one of the main heritage structures in the city. According to history records, the construction of the building began when the British were looking for a space to expand the Municipal Corporation of Madras.

It was built at a cost of Rs 7.5 lakh back then, by the contractor Loganatha Mudaliar.

On its 100th year, the Ripon Buildings underwent a massive restoration at a cost of Rs 7.7 crores under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

This was the first-ever heritage structure in the country to receive JNNURM funds. Under the same project, another Annex building of 12.540 sq mt was built behind the Ripon Building to move all the Corporation departments.

The new building was named ‘Amma Malaigai’ and has five floors, a 500-seater auditorium, and a 100-seater conference hall.

While the Ripon Buildings has the offices of Commissioners and DCs, the Amma Maligai has the offices of Engineers of various ranks and other departments.

Although the work to patch up cracks in Ripon Buildings kicked off in 2018, it was only partially completed and the majority of the cracks still remain.

“The cracks were partially attended by Helifix, an Ahmedabad company. The other cracks will be attended soon after calling tenders,’’ said an official with the Works Department. 

When Express contacted CMRL officials, they said they will look into the allegations.

Heritage structure

The Ripon Buildings, located near the Central Railway Station is one of the main heritage structures in the city.

According to history records, the construction of the building began when the British were looking for a space to expand the Municipal Corporation of Madras

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