Restoration of Balaji Ghat, Varanasi

• Balaji Ghat palace- established by Balaji Peshwa of Pune in 1735 AD.
• The palace and the temple is an outstanding example of Maratha architecture in Varanasi with elaborately carved wooden elements and space typology.
• Major portion of the temple was buried under heap of debris due to structural collapse in 1999 and 2009.
• The phase I work by INTACH which included restoration work of the building and cleaning of debris started in 2012 with the support of the World Monuments Fund (WMF). As part of the work, the collapsed portion of the residential section is restored to its original form.
• In 2016, the phase II works started with the support of American Express. The major works done during this phase included the conservation of spaces/roofs, setting up of Museum Section in the southwest portion, works done in Bismillah Khan Convention Centre.

The building has been restored with the completion of all the works in March 2022.

Restored façade (Before & After)

Restored courtyard (Before & After)

Restored Hall (Before & After)

Courtyard opposite Balaji temple (Before & After)

The Restored façade (Before & After)

The Cleaning of Gateway Facade (Before & After)

Restoration of Kaliadeh Palace (Surya Mandir), Ujjain

• Kaliadeh Palace, situated on an elevated plane by the bank of River Shipra, was built by the Sultan of Mandu in 1458 C.E.
• Persian inscriptions also record the visits of Mughal Emperors Akbar and Jahangir to the site.
• Ranoji Scindia founded the Scindia dynasty in 1731 C.E and established his capital at Ujjain. The palace was restored in the subsequent centuries for multiple uses and the current day idol was established by patrons of the Scindia family. The Jyotiraditya Rao Scindia Trust are the present day custodians of the Palace.
• Emergency restoration of the palace was completed by INTACH on 15th November 2022. The restoration work primarily focused on the waterproofing and facade upliftment of the structure. The restoration of arches, plaster repair and decorative elements were also addressed in this phase of work along with waterproofing of all exposed architectural members.

Surya Temple, Kaliadeh Palace, Ujjain

Restored Facade

Restored Facade

Restoration and Revival of Shri Ganga Mandir, Haridwar

• Shri Ganga Mandir at Har Ki Pauri on the banks of River Ganga at Haridwar was constructed by Raja Mansingh of Amer in the 16th century CE.
• Restoration of the temple has been carried out by INTACH with funding from M.R. Morarka Foundation.
• The substantially altered temple has been conserved wherein the concrete shikhar was carefully dismantled to reveal the original domed structure. Structural strengthening, consolidation and reconstruction of architectural elements of the temple have been undertaken.

Shri Ganga Mandir, Haridwar

Ganga Mandir during restoration

Ganga Mandir after restoration

Restoration of Ancient well and Shiv temple, Surat

• The conservation work of the ancient well and Shiv temple at Mora Village (Surat), funded by Reliance Industries Ltd. under their CSR programme commenced in May 2019 by INTACH.
• The project included the restoration of both the historic structures and the development of the site making it accessible to thousands of pilgrims who visit the village as part of the religious festivals hosted here.
• The on-site work got delayed due to the pandemic, however, with a committed workforce, the project was finally completed in December 2021.
• A cultural event was hosted by the village Sarpanch in April 2022 during which the work done by INTACH was highly appreciated by Reliance team and the locals.

Shiv temple and the well (Jatra kuan) after restoration

Heritage Impact Assessment Projects

The AH Division has prepared several HIAs in the year 2021-22 including for Property No. 14, Hailey road, New Delhi in the regulated area of Agrasen ki Baoli, Delhi; .Aadharshila School at Saket, New Delhi in the regulated area of Satpula, Delhi; Allahabad High court staff housing in the regulated area of Khusrobagh monuments, Prayagraj; Property No. 3909-12 at Hamilton Road, Mori Gate, Delhi in the regulated area of City wall; Stone Castle CHSL Borivili, Mumbai in the regulated area of Mandapeshwar Caves.

Tomb of Shah Begum, Khusrobagh, Prayagraj

Mandapeshwar Caves, Borivili, Mumbai

Urgent Interventions for Heritage at Risk

• INTACH AH’s social media campaign has made efforts to bring to light the built heritage sites at risk. INTACH has taken up urgent interventions at few sites across the country to save them from risk of collapse or loss of components.
• Urgent interventions have been undertaken for selected sites with the help of initiation funds by INTACH (as nominal financial incentives) and direct coordination and supervision by in-house AH team, with the help of masons. Matching support from owners/ community are expected in terms of shramdaan, finance or kind.
• Few of the sites wherein such interventions have been undertaken by INTACH are:
  • Bhensola Garhi, Ujjain District, MP – Structural repairs were carried out and collapsed roofs were carefully dismantled and reconstructed in the Raola style garhi of Malwa region.
  • Barh Ki Chowki, Delhi – The immense structural damage and roof collapse caused by Barh tree growth and neglect in one of the oldest Police Chowkis at Delhi has been addressed, which included jack-arched roof construction and stone masonry walls being rebuilt.
  • Sharda Mata Baoli, Maihar, Madhya Pradesh – The conservation and cleaning of the damaged Baoli has been undertaken with the help of Maihar Municipality and INTACH Chapter. The front gateway has been restored as a pilot restoration work.
  • Oli Temple, Old Vaishno Devi route, Jammu – The work has been completed successfully at the temple which was neglected and dilapidated for many years. The adjacent historic baoli has also been restored.
  • Charanpaduka Temple, Ayodhya, U.P. – The emergency restoration of the dilapidated portion of the temple complex has been completed.
  • Shiv Temple, Rajanawagaon, Chhattisgarh – The collapsing temple structure has been conserved in collaboration with the local community and INTACH Kawardha Chapter.
  • French Major’s Tomb – The French Major’s tomb at Gurgaon, Haryana has been restored. A small event was organised by the INTACH Gurgaon chapter on 16th March 2022 to celebrate the successful restoration of the tomb.

Barh ki Chowki Delhi
(Before restoratlion)

Barh ki Chowki (after restoration)

Restoration work at Sharda
Mata Baoli, Maihar

Shiv Temple, Rajanagaon

Bhensola Garhi M.P.

Charan Paduka Temple,
Guptar Ghat, Ayodhya

Restoration of the architectural
details at Oli Temple, Jammu

Restored shikhar of Oli Temple,
Jammu (After restored)

French Major’s tomb before restoration

French Major’s tomb after restoration

Technical Assistance for unprotected built heritage

• Requests for technical assistance from both public and private owners of heritage buildings are addressed by the AH division on a regular basis.
• To provide this assistance towards conservation of heritage buildings under threat, AH architects and conservation architects visit the site for a preliminary assessment of the buildings or coordinate with Chapters and professionals in the region for the same.
• In recent years, these have included Fort Kotda and Shahar Fort (Rajasthan), Impur Missionary buildings (Nagaland), Devi Kothi Temple in Chamba (Himachal Pradesh), Bose Institute (West Bengal), Shahjahanpur Court building (Uttar Pradesh) and Kumbakonam Chatram, Varadaraja Perumal Temple and St. Joseph Church (Tamil Nadu), the remains and temples in Haat Village (Uttarakhand) and Palace on Wheels in National Rail Museum (Delhi).

Haat village, Uttarakhand

Missionary building,
Impur, Nagaland

Bose Institute,
Kolkata, West Bengal

Varadaraja Perumal Temple,
Villupuram, Tamil Nadu

Heritage Impact Assessment Projects

The AH Division has prepared several HIAs in the year 2021-22 including for Property No. 14, Hailey road, New Delhi in the regulated area of Agrasen ki Baoli, Delhi; .Aadharshila School at Saket, New Delhi in the regulated area of Satpula, Delhi; Allahabad High court staff housing in the regulated area of Khusrobagh monuments, Prayagraj; Property No. 3909-12 at Hamilton Road, Mori Gate, Delhi in the regulated area of City wall; Stone Castle CHSL Borivili, Mumbai in the regulated area of Mandapeshwar Caves.

Tomb of Shah Begum, Khusrobagh, Prayagraj

Mandapeshwar Caves, Borivili, Mumbai

Ganga Cultural Documentation

• The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation assigned INTACH to undertake the documentation of built, natural and intangible heritage along the Ganga.
• The Architectural Heritage Division has completed the listing and documentation of 37 districts, 26 districts of Uttar Pradesh, 10 districts of Bihar and 1 district of Jharkhand that lie along the banks of the river.
• The scope of work was to identify and prepare heritage database/ inventories of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage properties found within 5 kms on each side of the River Ganga from Gaumukh to Gangasagar through primary survey.
• An area of approx. 16,000 sq. km was covered by the team and a total of 5361 historic sites were identified.
• The documentation includes built heritage of various typologies like residential, institutional, religious, defense, industrial, commercial, water structures, archaeological etc.
• The documentation also included study of the urban setting and evolution pattern of the major cities situated along the banks, which were ruled by several significant rulers who controlled trade and communication via the Ganga, the most important waterways channel of the country.

Lal imli Mill located in the heart of Kanpur city, Kanpur district

Visrat Ghat in Farrukhabad city, Farrukhabad district

Conservation and repair work of a saree weavers vernacular cluster, Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh

AH INTACH undertook conservation and repair work in a vernacular weaver cluster in Andar Shahar, Chanderi in 2017. This was an initiative to help weavers repair their homes using traditional materials and techniques and demonstrate benefits of their continued usage.

It was achieved through a consultative approach with participation of the community (the owners and local masons) along with INTACH Chanderi Chapter. The conserved cluster includes a single storey vernacular home, first floor of a two-storeyed haveli and a shared toilet facility.

A high angle view of a small town

A group of people standing outside of a building