VIJAYAPURA: The severe damage to one of the minarets of the ancient Mehtar Mahal monument of the city on Thursday evening due to lightning has brought a shocking information to light that none of the ancient monuments of city have lightning arrester system installed or functioning. They are either completely damaged or never installed in the first place.
Thursday’s incident where a portion of minaret was destroyed that resulted in severe damage to a car parked near the monument, has proved that the ancient monuments of the city are not protected from lightning.
Admitting that the damaged monument did not have lightning arrester, the official of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) also admitted that most of the ancient monuments including the enchanting Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Roza have no lightning arrester system in place.
“Actually 10 years ago, the ASI had installed lightning arresters in 90% of the monuments coming under the jurisdiction of ASI in Vijayapura city. But unfortunately, people have stolen the copper wire which is an intrinsic part of the lightning arrester system. Now, none of the monuments has a functioning lightning arrester system,” the official said. He said that the city has 81 protected monuments by ASI, which makes it the second highest ASI protected monuments in the country after Delhi.
Speaking to The New India Express, he said that they never thought the lightning would be so intense in Vijayapura that it could damage the monuments.
“But now after this incident, we have conveyed the message to the higher officials and are seeking their permission to install the arresters in all the monuments”, he said.
The official said that they will give first priority to the monuments which are very tall. This year, the ASI plans to install the system in at least ten monuments. Other monuments will be taken in a phased manner. Meanwhile, he has appealed to the people not to steal the copper strip as it will ensure safety of not just the monument but also of the people.
With regard to the restoration and conservation of the damaged portion of Mehtar Mahal, the official said that they will first place scaffolding to prevent the structure from further damage. “We will first put scaffolding. Later explore the possibility of restoration. This year, we will take conservation works of Mehtar Mahal,” he said, and claimed that it is possible to restore the damaged portion, the same as the original structure.