Heritage :Demolition of part of P Orr & Sons building

CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Thursday cleared demolition of a portion of the landmark P Orr & Sons building on Anna Salai, saying certain things cannot be left to chance and precaution had to be taken against the possibility of a disaster. 
The court rejected a petition by P Orr & Sons, which runs a watch shop in the building, to restrain Chennai corporation from going ahead with the demolition. 
In November 2011, the state government acquired a portion of the land on which the heritage building is located for the metro rail project. Subsequently, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited demolished a section of the building. 




But the demolition also damaged a wall on the southwest corner on the second floor of the building. While P Orr & Sons undertook restoration work, Associated Publishers Private Ltd, which owns the building, sought an expert opinion from IIT-Madras about its safety. The report said a portion of the building had become weak. 

On the basis of the assessment, the corporation on April 1, 2013, issued a notice to fence off the rear portion and demolish around 894 sqft of the building. Against the notice, P Orr & Sons moved the HC, which dismissed the petition and cleared the deck for the civic body to proceed with demolition. 

TOI :Manish Raj, TNN | Nov 14, 2014, 04.53AM IST