PMC letter permitting repairs doesn't mention Press Building, but research institute breaks side walls of structure

The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) in its efforts to conserve and renovate its buildings seems to have strayed from the rules. The permission obtained by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) allows the 93-year-old institute to carry out repair work only on the Tata Hall and Nizam's Guest House situated on its premises. But the institute has gone ahead and broken the sidewalls of the Press Building, which does not even find mention in the permit given by the PMC.


Heritage hole: The razed side walls of the 76-year- old Press Building
on the premises of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in
Shivajinagar. Pic/Vivek Sabnis

MiD DAY has got a copy of a letter issued by the PMC city engineer's office to BORI on November 27, 2009. The letter authorises the institute to make alterations only in the Tata Hall and Nizam's Guest House, which includes repairing doors, removing oil paints from wooden works, replacing electric cables, fixing leaking roofs and rearranging furniture in both the structures. Sanction to make changes to the Press Building finds no mention in the letter.