CHENNAI: The Public Works Department is assessing the damage of the historic 244-year-old Chepauk Palace and a decision will be taken on Wednesday evening, according to Public Works Department Minister K V Ramalingam.The minister, who visited Chepauk Palace on Monday after the inferno ravaged it, told Express that the building had been damaged totally and was beyond repair.“The building is damaged 100 per cent and renovation work can’t take place. The wooden ceilings have been destroyed. There is no way it can be repaired,” Ramalingam said. Meanwhile, highly-placed sources confided that whatever was left of the building would be demolished and a new building constructed.The palace was the official residence of the Nawab of Arcot from 1768 to 1855. Built over an area of 117 acres, the palace comprises two blocks - the northern block called Kalas Mahal and the southern block known as Humayun Mahal.Ramalingam said the wooden flooring and the roof helped the fire to spread quickly reducing the historic monument, which is considered to be the finest Indo-Saracenic architecture, to ashes.“All that lies in the site is piles of rubbish with only the walls intact,” the minister said. Interestingly, the state government constructed the Ezhilagam Complex at the north-eastern corner of the plot only in 1960 to accommodate government offices.
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