World Heritage Week: Heritage Buildings Housing Around 100 Schools To Be Conserved In Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): At least 100 schools in different parts of Madhya Pradesh are functioning from heritage buildings of the colonial and the pre-colonial era. These buildings need to be preserved and conserved. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has planned to identify such buildings.

After documenting their architectural and historical features and preparing a plan for their conservation, it would collaborate with the government and non-governmental organisations to take steps for their preservation. Most of these buildings are in a dilapidated state for want of proper and scientific maintenance. The buildings are under threat and they pose risk to the students and the staff of the schools.

First in the list, two schools in Jaora

The plan for conservation of two such buildings in Jaora in Ratlam district of the state has already been prepared. They are Kamla Nehru Government Higher Secondary School and Government Mahatma Gandhi Higher Secondary School. The former was established in 1948 and the latter in 1897. Both are run by the state education department.  The buildings that house these two schools were constructed around 200 years ago, when Jaora was under the rule of a local king. They are influenced by Neo-classical architecture and construction systems.

Ornamented facades with sapphires, long-running corridors, double-height floors, use of rich construction materials such as ashlar stone masonry, timber work, cast iron work, terracotta tiles, lime, etc. are the major significance of the buildings. An architectural documentation and condition assessment for these buildings has been done and provided to the local administration and education department for initiating their conservation and restoration.   

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“We have a twin purpose. Restoration will conserve these buildings and it will also ensure a nice place for the students to learn. We are confident that it would boost attendance of children and curb dropout rate,” Madan Mohan Upadhyay. Convener, Bhopal chapter of INTACH,