KARACHI, Aug 30: The federal archaeology department, under a two-year Rs3 million project, is carrying out restoration work on Quaid-i-Azam House Museum.

Talking to Dawn, the director of the federal archaeology department, Sindh and Balochistan, Qasim Ali Qasim, said that restoration work included replacement of Mangalore tiles, termite-infested false ceilings, frames of trusses, bamboo kapachi of the Mangalore tiled roof, improvement of drainage and electrification system, etc.

He said that the about 50 per cent of the preservation work had been completed while the rest of the work that also included upgrade of the auditorium and installation of a multimedia system would be concluded by the end of 2008.

The bungalow -- formerly known as the Flag Staff House as it was once the residence of the army’s general officer commanding -- was originally owned by Sohrab Kavasji and Dina Katrak. The Quaid visited the imposing edifice in 1943 and later bought it.

It is a good specimen of the colonial style construction. The frontage has a symmetrical arrangement with two wings flanking the central porch that carries the projecting part of the verandah.

Simple arcading, carved roofs using red clay tiles are the architectural ingredients of this attractive bungalow with semicircular balconies. Finely chiselled and carved features embellish the front facade, while the rest of the building is in a hammer-dressed masonry.

According to official sources, a purchase deed in the name of “Mr Mahommedali Jinnah, Barrister-at-Law, Bombay”, was registered in March 1944. After independence in 1947, the bungalow was furnished with the belongings of the Quaid from his Delhi and Bombay residences.

After the death of Quaid-i-Azam in 1948, his sister Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah stayed in the house from 1948 to 1964. The house remained neglected till 1985 when the government of Pakistan finally took over the building and declared it a national monument, the Quaid-i-Azam House Museum. The building now houses the Quaid’s furniture, relics and other items of his daily use.