Vadodara: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has moved forward with plans to restore the historic Mandvi Gate, submitting a proposal to its standing committee seeking approval for a ₹4.96 crore renovation project.

Cracks were first noticed in a column on the south-western side of the Mandvi pavilion in January 2025. Heritage activists and regular visitors flagged the damage to civic officials, and by February the cracks had widened significantly, prompting VMC to acknowledge the seriousness of the structural deterioration.

In April, experts from the Archaeological Survey of India inspected the monument and declared it fragile, recommending immediate intervention. VMC subsequently installed steel girders to support the arches. However, despite these measures, a column on the opposite side continued to deteriorate.

As fragments began falling from the damaged column, VMC stabilised it by encasing the structure in a cylindrical steel shell filled with hot lime concrete. Extensive use of steel girders and barricading, while necessary for safety, left the heritage structure visually compromised.

VMC later appointed a project management consultant (PMC), which estimated the restoration cost at ₹4.2 crore, cautioning that expenses could rise if hidden structural damage was discovered during testing.

After two failed tenders, VMC finalised an agency for the work. The contractor’s initial quote of ₹5.08 crore was negotiated down to ₹4.96 crore.

According to the proposal, the restoration is expected to be completed within 27 months, excluding the monsoon period. The standing committee is scheduled to consider the proposal later this week. DeshGujarat