KARACHI, Dec 4: A large number of the Trinity Methodist Girls High School students on Saturday participated in the cleaning up of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, one of the oldest churches in the city.

The operation was organized by the Karavan Karachi under its Heritage Clean-up Initiative (HCI) and the students carried it out under the guidance of the Heritage Foundation chief, Yasmeen Lari, a conservation architect. They cleaned up the over 150-year-old solid stone structure of the cathedral.

She told them that though it looked hard and tough, the stone actually was very soft and delicate. As such, the whole structure be cleaned first with dry brushes and water with mild soap be applied afterwards, she advised.

Secretary of the Church of Pakistan's Karachi Diocese Shahzar Shamoon was present during the cleaning up of the cathedral's structure, which is also protected under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act.

Ms Lari said that the next site to be cleaned up under the HCI would be the Wallace Bridge, located next to the City Station. The operation is scheduled for Jan 1.

She said that those intending to clean up the structures built with sand stone should not apply sand blasting process which could cause damage the stone and expose it to weather or other environmental threats.

Built of Gizri sand stone, with a seating capacity of 800, the Holy Trinity Church was constructed at a cost of Rs56,612. It uses Romanesque arch at the entry, and Venetian single and double windows, with little ornamentation on the façade. It also has coupled windows on the second level of the tower.