PESHAWAR, Oct 11: Experts have started restoration work on the historic building of Islamia College, which is crumbling slowly despite being declared to be in a ‘dangerous’ state in 2004. The work is being undertaken with the Rs2 million released recently by the provincial archaeology department, it is learnt.

Affiliated with the University of Peshawar, Islamia College has a beautiful building dating back to 1913. It is one of the oldest educational institutions of the North West Frontier Province, which was set up by Nawab Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum and Sir George Roos-Keppel and inaugurated by the legendary freedom fighter Haji Sahib Torangzai in October of 1913.

The red-bricked Victorian-style building, situated on the university road, was declared ‘dangerous’ in 2004, when the-then principal Ajmal Khan got a survey conducted with the help of seven structural engineers from the NWFP University of Engineering and Technology to assess the condition of the building.

The experts’ findings were alarming as they found that the basement of the building was damaged due to water seepage, walls were cracked and the main dome and the Roos-Keppel Hall, including the principal’s office, were in such bad shape that they could collapse anytime.

The engineers recommended that the restoration work be started without further delay but their proposal was put in the cold storage. The archaeology department allocated Rs29.825 million after it prepared a PC-I in 2006 to conserve the historic building but work could not begin due to some unknown reasons.

However, after the provincial government and the administration of the Islamia College pressed the matter further the archaeology department released Rs2 million and the conservation work began earlier this month.

“An execution committee of experts, comprising Talib Hussain, a conservator from Punjab, and engineers Prof Ali and Abid Kamal, and an architectural firm have started the (conservation) work on the building,” said an official of the archaeology department.

He said the condition of the building was very poor and its roof, walls and domes needed immediate repair.

Mr Kamal confirmed to Dawn that conservation work had been started on the Roos-Keppel Hall and the main portion of the building. He said the building was badly affected by water seepage, adding that concrete walls would be built around the building to stop seepage.