Details of the project

The Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted by INTACH has given by way of recommendations, a wide range of measures that were critically needed for the conservation of the Church under this project.

The project work divides these measures in two broad phases and these are given below:

Phase I – Stabilisation of foundation

The foundation of the Church will be stabilised along with the adjoining areas. to prevent rain water from seeping towards the Church building.

Also necessary works will be done to mitigate the impact of vibrations of the metro trains. These include:

  • Safety measures to prevent the building from vibrations due to movement of metro train under the ground. This would be done by sand filling in the excavated trench between the foundation of church and metro tunnel as per directions of Structural engineers.
  • Restoration of Foundation and Plinth Protection of the Church building – Provision for dismantling of the cracked, decayed flagstone including stacking & sorting for reuse.
  • Filling earth up to the depth of 300 mm on the upper level including watering, ramming complete as per directions of the Structural engineers.

Phase I, will essentially be covering works to prevent future damage to the foundation and the structure of the church building.

Phase II – Structural Conservation and Chemical Cleaning of Art and Antiquities

This phase will cover works to reverse the damage that has taken place to the structure and its contents.

  • Dismantling old decayed/cement plaster & cleaning of the surface.
  • Stitching & repairing of cracks in walls going horizontal or vertical way by using lime mortar.
  • Underpinning of damaged, disturbed and missing traditional brick masonry in walls & Columns/Pillars as per original pattern
  • Re-plastering on the interior or exterior of the structure above ground level in two coats
  • Repairing of rusted wrought iron sections, sheets, tie rods & other steel/iron members. It also includes removal of existing surface finishing coating & providing a new layer of paint finish, after treated anti-rust treatment complete.
  • Chemical cleaning of marble floors and stone structures
  • Conservation of Oil Paintings and Antiquities.

(Full details of the project is given in the Conservation Report found in the next section).

Phase I will take about 4 to 6 months to complete. Phase II will take about 16 to 18 months to complete. The total project period thus estimated is about 20 – 24 months.

We hope to start the project in September’2016 i.e. after the monsoon rains and after the receipt of the necessary approvals from the concerned authorities.

The project cost covering both the phases is estimated to be about Rs 3. 5 crores (Rs 35 million = USD 525000 approx)

This is a huge amount for the Church members to manage, but we have the confidence that God will provide. He surely will.