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LAHORE: Sher Singh Baradari, a 19th century important monument of the Sikh period, will be restored and conserved by the Punjab Archeology Department, officials told .
The monument was badly damaged and set on fire by an angry mob in 1992 in retaliation to the demolition of the Babri Mosque in India.Officials said Sher Singh Baradari located in Kot Khwaja Saeed was full of cracks and some of its walls were in bad repair.
After the death of Maharaja Sher Singh, this particular monument was left at the mercy of time and now earnest efforts are needed to save it from further decay.
The monument is confronted with various architectural and environmental issues which are required to be addressed to keep this monument stay alive.
Officials said the restoration and conservation of Baradari was being carried out on the request of the City District Government of Lahore which had approved Rs21.84 million for this purpose. The work will start as soon as the CDGL releases the grant.
They said the Punjab Archeology Department would execute the project in a span of two years.
Describing the present state of the monument, they said the lime plaster was either missing in many places or in an extremely poor condition.
Cracks in the building are to be grouted with recommended bonding material. Fresco work on walls is vanishing and becoming faint. Fresco work almost all over the monument requires retouching and restoration by an expert 'naqash'.
A number of red sand stone elements, especially brackets, are either in advanced stage of decay or entirely missing which need replacement.
The conservation will require restoration of missing portions, including lime plaster, glaze plaster, fresco painting, brick imitation works, flooring, fixation of red sand stone and work on decorative features.
The restoration and conservation would be carried out after the archeological investigation and proper documentation, officials said.
