By Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net,
Lucknow: The gong of historical Hussainabad Clock Tower broke its silence after a gap of 27 years. The clock which went silent after 94 years of functioning in 1984 finally became alive with the gong striking declaring that it is five’o clcok on Monday.
“We are satisfied with the restoration work. We hope to complete the repairing of the tower by March 2012. Presently, only one dial of the clock tower has been connected to the clock and soon the remaining four dials will also be connected,” said ADM and Secretary, Hussainabad and Allied Trust (HAT), OP Pathak on Monday. HAT has undertaken the restoration of the defunct clock tower in January 2010 with the support of retired engineer Akhilesh Aggrawal, Merchant Navy Captain, Paritosh Chauhan and retired PWD’s chief engineer BK Chauhan.
The Hussainabad Clock Tower was constructed in the honour of the then Lieutenant Governor of United Provinces Sir George Cooper between 1882-1887. Designed by British architect Richard R Bayen the height of the clock tower is 221 feet. Constructed on a base of 20X20 feet platform, the total construction cost at that time was 90000 rupees.
The clock established in the tower has been manufactured by JW Basaon and is one of the three most technically sound clock of the world including London’s Big Ben. It is the highest clock tower in India. The cost of the clock was Rs 26933 and is made of gun metal having five gongs. The clock stopped functioning in 1984 after its commissioning in 1887. HAT took some steps to make it functional since 1999 but in vain. It was after the trio of Aggrawal, Chauhan and Shrotia stepped in and prepared a feasibility report in 2010. The total expense is around 18 lakhs. “We have already spent 15.59 lakhs as the civil work has also been done. There is total wooden flooring inside the clock tower,” said Pathak.
Akhilesh Aggrawal who executed the project stated that the parts which were unavailable have been reconstructed by redesigning. “The clock is now ready and we have synchronised one dial of the clock. Soon the remaining four dials will also be connected with the machine,” said Aggrawal. He also stated that now the quarter chiming of the clock will be finished. It is due to the quarter chiming the clock gives out music after every 15 minutes. On a clear weather, the sound can be heard from a distance of three kms. Another work is the repairing of a air direction indicator installed on the minaret. Besides this some civil work of the balcony is also left to be finished. “We are hopeful that all the work will be completed by March 2012 and the clock tower will be restored to its pristine glory,” said Aggrawal.