Patna, Feb. 18: Residents of the state capital who love looking at the city from atop Golghar may have to stay away for a while. The historic granary is all set for a revamp.

Archeological Survey of India (ASI) will soon start work to check the condition of the foundation of Patna’s major tourist attraction — Golghar. This has been decided after an expert team from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, — that visited Patna in January — made such a suggestion. This would be a part of the restoration work, which has been assigned to the ASI by the state government.

“The team had visited Golghar in January and it recently informed us that the condition of the structure’s foundation needs to be looked into,” ASI Patna circle superintending archaeologist S.K. Manjul told The Telegraph. He added that actual work would start once the IIT team report comes in writing.

A fund of Rs 94 lakh has also been sanctioned by the state government to carry out the renovation. The restoration work has become necessary, as the 3.6m thick wall of this 29m tall structure has developed a vertical crack near the staircase. The condition of the foundation is a matter of concern as well.

“We have to find out whether the crack is limited to the superstructure or whether it has affected the foundation as well. Accumulation of water near the base of the structure is another reason which has forced us to check the condition of the foundation,” Manjul said. He added that the bearing capacity of the soil near the foundation would also be checked.

In order to check the ill effect of low bearing capacity of soil, lead sheets are put beneath the surface. It checks percolation of water in the lower levels of the soil.

The superintending archaeologist said the digging of the foundation work would be done under the supervision of experts. If required, experts from IIT too could be roped in for this purpose.

“If we find any damage in the foundation, it would be repaired first before the restoration work of superstructure is undertaken,” he added.

The technology to be used for restoring the foundation, if required, would be chosen depending upon the nature of the damage done to it.

As far as restoration of the superstructure is concerned, ASI has decided to use the latest Pressure Grouting Technique of restoring old buildings in which cracks are filled.

Under this technique, the outer part of the crack is covered with a clay cover and a mixture of building material, used in the original structure, is pumped at high pressure using a pipe to fill the gaps. Once the material settles down, the clay cover is removed. After the completion of the filling work, the outer and inner parts of the crack are stitched using old bricks so that the walls retain their original shape.

The existing plaster cover of the outer wall will be replaced with a fresh cover of the same thickness. At present, the thickness of the plaster cover is more than what it was in the original structure.

“Given the nature of work it is tough to say anything about the time frame. But the work is likely to continue for more than a year,” Manjul said. He added that some restrictions for visitors would be imposed when the actual restoration work starts.