Restoration work and reopening of the monument
After four years of continuous hard work, the tomb was reopened for the public. The restoration work was carried out by Aga Khan Trust and German Embassy. The work started in 2010. The engineers of the foundation found seepage at a large scale in 25 domes of the monuments. As per the project director of AKTC, Ratish Nanda,
“The marble blocks of the domes were tied to each another and embedded in the brick masonry over the domes with iron dowels. The rainwater spouts from the inaccessible roof got blocked and here, a large amount of water got collected on the roof. This led to corrosion, rusting, and expansion of the iron dowels. The pressure led to the bursting of the marble blocks in all parts of the mausoleum – domes, arches, façade, pendentives and even the column capitals – threatening to collapse the structure.”
3D laser scanning, stone by stone assessment and several other measurements were taken to ensure everything. The engineers stitched the cracks. Almost 8 months were spent just to fix the first dome. The rest of the domes were repaired by stone craftsmen in three-team over the next four years.
