Vadodara: Six months have passed since serious structural damage became apparent on a pillar of the Mandvi pavilion, at the heart of the walled city.The agitation by an activist, who has been standing barefoot for a few hours every day at the pavilion, also entered its 100th day on Monday. The Mandvi pavilion started showing cracks in Jan, after which activists raised concerns about its condition. Demonstrations were held at the pavilion, joined even by political parties. The VMC then asked a consultant appointed for heritage structures to assess the condition of the monument. Steel girders were installed to support the structure. However, many believe that these girders did more damage to the pavilion, causing its arches to develop cracks. In April, an expert from the Archaeological Survey of India examined the monument. The ASI official, as well as experts from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Heritage Trust, expressed concern at the structure’s condition. The method to support the structure was also changed later. The priest of the nearby Vitthalnathji Temple and activist, Hariom Vyas, has been standing in the pavilion barefoot for a few hours each day to protest the apathy towards Mandvi. His protest completed 100 days on Monday. Vyas told mediapersons that he had raised the issue even before the present crisis emerged. Congress city unit president Rutvij Joshi and other workers met Vyas and expressed solidarity with him. Joshi said Vyas had resolved to save Mandvi and was standing barefoot, but even this had no effect on officials. The square pavilion was built in 1511 by Sultan Muzaffar Shah along with the walled city and is at the centre of the roads connecting the four gates of the walled city. The structure was renovated and extended in 1736 and 1856 during the Gaekwadi rule. It is now a four-storey structure with a clock at the top. The pavilion has 16 pillars with three arches on each of its four sides.
