The La Martiniere schools require a complete structural assessment for two of its oldest buildings to find long-term remedial measures for the 189-year-old structures, an inspection committee comprising officials of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the state heritage commission said on Sunday.
For immediate works such as mending cracks, damp walls and plaster work, the schools will have the required permission, an official of the inspection team told Metro.
A vacation bench of the high court on Thursday directed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to inspect La Martiniere for Girls and La Martiniere for Boys on Sunday so the schools could be granted permission for necessary repairs.
The inspection team comprised officials of the KMC as well as the state heritage commission.
On Sunday, the team inspected the two campuses, 80 classrooms, terraces, playgrounds and other areas.
“We have suggested in our report that the two buildings, which are about 190 years old, require an assessment of their health. These are such old buildings that a complete structural assessment will find out what remedial measures need to be taken,” said a member of the inspection team.
“To address immediate issues like mending of cracks, damp walls, and plaster work, the school can conduct the repairs,” the member said.
The La Martiniere School was established in 1836. Both the girls’ and the boys’ schools have one building each that is 189 years old, a school official said.
“We will conduct a long-term assessment of both buildings and give a proposal to the KMC. The major work in the long term comprises repairs in the roofs so they don’t cave in, and damp walls need to be looked at,” said Supriyo Dhar, secretary, La Martiniere schools.
Dhar said that the school had appointed a KMC-empanelled conservation architect to assess the structural repairs the buildings needed and find out whether they were safe.
“We have asked the architect to give us a report on whether there are any unsafe rooms. If so, we will cordon off those areas,” said Dhar.
This was the second inspection within a week. The KMC and the heritage commission inspected both premises on June 2.
The urgent inspection was ordered by a vacation bench after a portion of a 40-foot-high ceiling of one of the heritage buildings crashed in the boys’ school.
The school’s lawyer had argued in court for permission to start immediate repairs during the summer vacation before students return to school.
After the joint inspection, KMC officials said they will allow the necessary repairs to worn-out plaster on ceilings and walls, but with strict conditions to preserve the school’s historical integrity.
The La Martinere schools are listed as Grade I Heritage Buildings in KMC records.
According to the KMC’s Graded List of Heritage Buildings, drawn up in 2009, “no external change will be permissible” in a Grade I heritage structure. It adds that the “use of the building should also be compatible with the category of the heritage building”.