Conservation plan for bunker found under the Raj Bhavan

Officials from Raj Bhavan said they plan to use the expertise of the IIT and central water and power research station whenever necessary

A decision to make a comprehensive plan to conserve the British-era bunker discovered under Raj Bhavan was taken at a high-level meeting presided over by Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on Thursday. IIT-Bombay will conduct a structural audit of the bunker, after which the expert committee will come up with the plan.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis posted images of his tour to his Twitter account. The bunker is about 12 feet high, and allows considerable amount of movement in its passageways. (Devendra Fadnavis Twitter account)

Issues related to conservation and security of the bunker were discussed at the meeting. An expert committee comprises Pravin Kide, chief engineer of PWD as the coordinator; Dr Sabyasachi Mukherjee, director, Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahalaya; and Rajiv Mishra, principal, Sir JJ School of Architecture; Dr M Nambhirajan, regional director (West), Archaeological Survey of India as conservator experts.

Read: Not just governor, Raj Bhavan houses a 5,000-sq-ft British-era bunker too

In pics: British-era bunker discovered under Maharashtra Raj Bhavan

Officials from Raj Bhavan said they plan to use the expertise of the IIT and central water and power research station whenever necessary.

The bunker, presumed to be a war room, was discovered on August 12. “We are considering appointing IIT-Bombay for the audit,” said a senior official.

“The audit report will give us an idea of its stability, after which we will make further plans,” sources said.