IT’S EDIBLE: Minaret built of edible ingredients such as methi & imli, which makes it sturdy
A lightening struck Ek Toda mosque's minaret last monsoon and damaged the 460-year-old structure. The 60-feet tall minaret is now dilapidated and poses a threat to life. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has taken up task to dismantle the minaret, which is a private property.
As it is a heritage structure, the civic body is taking extra care and taking it down brick by brick. "We are dismantling it using a special technique to prevent further damage," said Ashish Trambadiya, Director, Heritage Conservation Society, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
"We are facing difficulties in removing the bricks and stones from the structure. The structure is made of stones, lime brick, certain edible ingredients, which have rendered the structure stronger with the passage of time," said the director.
At a primary level, the civic body has found methi, aritha, imli, etc, in the construction material. The civic body is removing stones and bricks with much attention so that they can be fixed just as they used to be. According to the officials, the ingredients used to build the minarets have multiple usages and doubled up as adhesives and keep away termites.
According to the official, they are just dismantling the damaged part, but will not fix it, as it belongs to a private player. However, the civic body has already spent around Rs 15 lakh in removing the damaged part.
The civic body has given numbers and codes to each of the bricks and stones. "There are eight different courses (layers) of the structure (minarets). As the damage is in spiral shape; we are moving from one layer to another. Also, we have kept the bricks and stones separately so that whenever it is repaired and fixed, the originality and uniqueness of the structure is retained," said one of the conservation architects at the civic body.
‘HANDLE WITH CARE’
- The minaret was struck by lightning this monsoon, damaging the structure, which is now in a dilapidated condition.
- Not only is this a heritage structure, but a private property too. So, to dismantle the minaret and rebuild it, the civic body is being extra cautious.
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