JNTU to run strength check on Charminar
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, will henceforth monitor the structural strength of the historic Charminar and suggest repairs, if any are required, to strengthen the structure.
The Archaeological Survey of India, which maintains the 419-year-old monument, has asked JNTU to inspect the structure and submit a report. This comes after pieces of the floral facade of the monument peeled off last month.
Explaining what it proposes to do, the principal of
the JNTU College of Engineering, Dr N.V. Ramana Rao, said, “We will use ultrasonic tests where pulses of a certain frequency are sent into the walls of the structure. Depending on the speed with which these pulses reach the receiver, one can estimate how intact a structure is.? The JNTU will run the tests next week and submit a report to the ASI a week after that. The tests will be performed by the special structural engineering group from the university, comprising seven professors in civil engineering, which will be headed by Dr Rao.
The ASI plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with the university in order to get permission to use its services for periodical inspections of historic monuments.
Source: Deccan Chronicle