Ballad of slipping stones

The Geological Survey of India is already camping in Jaisalmer to carry out detailed soil studies and related topographical studies.

The project—covered under the National Culture Fund (NCF)—is being executed in conjunction with the World Monuments Fund (WMF) which included it in the list of 100 endangered monuments worldwide this year. A sum of Rs 4 crore has also been deposited for the project. The entire project is being overseen by the ASI directorate in New Delhi.

Speaking to The Indian Express over phone from Jaipur, ASI, Jaipur Circle’s Superintending Archaeologist R C Mishra says, ‘‘We have already floated tenders to rope in reputed geo-technical site investigation agencies to study the stability of walls, bastions and slopes of the Jaisalmer Fort. Scope of the work would include drilling, boring, testing including field tests like SPT test, permeability test, pressure meter test, inclinometer test besides standard laboratory tests on soil and rock samples. The results would would not only provide us long term solutions on the preservation of the fort but also help in understanding nature of the soil on which the fort stands.’’

Explaining the need for undertaking the study Mishra says, ‘‘We are trying to understand how water is affecting the soil. When the fort was built, inflow of water was much less as compared to what it is now. Previously there were no rains and Jaisalmer used to be a dry patch. However now with a canal coming up on the Bikaner side, there’s lot of greenery as a result of which rainfall is more. Besides the water usage and corresponding drainage has gone up substantially. The rock on which the fort stands is not a properly metamorphosed stone. Since the soil is semi-hard, the walls of the fort becomes all the more vulnerable to the seepage of water. There was a high-level meeting with the WMF where it was decided to undertake the study.’’

THE study would also prove leads on what would happen to the fort in the event of an earthquake. WMF is executing the project here through their Mumbai-based consultant Bombay Collaboratives. The agency’s director Sudhir Deshpande admits the ‘‘fort is showing distress’’.

‘‘There are disfigurations and discolouration in a number of places in the fort. The population living inside the fort has grown by about four-five times in the last 30 years. Naturally the water consumption has also gone up. The excess water being let out is weakening the soil, the walls, bastions and slope. GSI is mapping the bed rock and analysing the mineral content. Once the studies are over, we can arrive at concrete ways of saving the structure,’’ he says over the phone from Mumbai.