Cracks widen on Ripon Building

According to the sources, Chennai Corporation had appointed a Gujarat-based firm to fix the cracks and conduct soil test at the premises several months back. “However, the renovation work did not start due to several reasons,” the source said. The delay in restoring the building has resulted in new cracks developing on the building, from which plants are already sprouting. The civic body had allocated Rs 58 lakh for the renovation work.

The civic body decided to restore the structure in 2013 to celebrate its centenary function. However, the renovation work got delayed and now the cost has escalated to around Rs 13 crore. “If the civic body restored the building properly that time itself, there would have been no need to conduct another round renovation work,” a source said.