KARACHI, June 21: During restoration and rehabilitation work of the Wazir Mansion, the birthplace of the Quaid-i-Azam, experts have discovered original stone walls, flooring and a well which remained hidden for a long time.

Sources said that during an earlier repair carried out by the Pak PWD in the 1950s, concrete cement was used in place of stone and almost a new structure was built by changing the original design of the protected building. Changes, the sources said, were made to such an extent that arched door and window openings were converted into a square shaped structure.

However, during the ongoing work, original stone structure was accidentally revealed as workers peeled off plaster in the façade of the building on the ground floor.

The officials were surprised to see a different kind of structure – arches in place of square-shaped door and windows and stone walls beneath the cement concrete plaster.

A few days back, while going through piles of old documents, the officials also came across an old photograph of the house which showed the structure in its original shape – complete with stone walls and arch-shaped door and windows on the ground floor.

They said when the floor on one side of the building was cleared and concrete cement was removed, the ground remains of an in-house well, which was also closed during repairs in 1950s, were also discovered. Earlier, it was used for drinking water. Some steps of an iron staircase inside the well have also been discovered.

The old photograph also showed that the house was a ground-plus-two storey structure whereas at present it is a ground-plus-three, proving that during the earlier repairs, an additional floor was constructed over a century-old structure. Presently, the third floor houses the offices of the Archaeology Department.

The sources said that after these discoveries, the Rs 15milion rehabilitation and restoration project might be delayed as more care would have to be exercised to uncover the original stone structure, and once it is done, restoration and rehabilitation work would be carried out.

They said the department did not want to carry out restoration work as it had already been done by the Pak PWD in the early 1950s owing to which the original structure and character of the building had been ruined, but work would be carried out to bring the building back to its original character, design, and structure.

The well will also be cleared off debris and dug up to the water level, and if the water was of drinking quality, it would be restored and water can be used for drinking purposes. However, if the water quality is not found good, only the well structure would be restored.

Moreover, after fully uncovering the arches, the structure would be rehabilitated and restored.

They said the present building repaired by the Pak PWD in 1953, looked like a modern building which also creates doubts in the minds of people.