Railways dump heritage in the trash

MADE IN 1865, TILES CAME FROM MANGALORE

Rajendra Aklekar/Mumbai Dec 5

THE ORIGINAL 19th century Mangalorean clay tiles of the city's only
World Heritage Site, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, have found a
shocking resting place - a debris dump at the station premises.
These tiles were probably removed during the recent restoration
work.

Central Railway started waterproofing the terrace and plumbing
repairs and work is still in progress.

The Mangalorean clay tiles were manufactured and stamped by Basel
Mission Tile Works, and date back to 1865. They are being damaged by
exposure to debris and some have also been found broken.

According to research conducted by city historians Sharada Dwivedi
and Rahul Mehrotra, Basel Mission set up a tile-manufacturing
factory at Jeppo, Mangalore, in 1865. Easy availability of feldspar
on the banks of the Netravati in Mangalore and transport facilities
resulted in a major industry being established.

Tiles were exported throughout India, British East Africa, Aden,
Basra, Sumatra, Borneo and Australia. The company manufactured the
tiles in gasfired kilns and added salt glazes to make them last
longer. Pramod Kumar Singh, Central Railway's officer on special
duty (services), said he would comment only after he has checked the
facts.

rajendra.aklekar@...