A Kurukshetra man got his name entered in the India Book of Records for 'lifting and shifting' an over 200-year-old sacred monument, the shrine of St John’s Nepumsian Church in Kochi.
The India Book of Records certified that it was the oldest sacred monument to be lifted and shifted. It was a 203-year-old sacred monument, and it was lifted and shifted to a location 26 meters away.
The shrine, about 12 ft wide and 15 ft tall, was lifted and shifted with the help of jacks and iron rods to make way for a railway project.
Vikash Rana, a resident of Kurukshetra, said, “We have been in this business since 1973, when my grandfather Atma Ram started this work, and over these years our family has lifted and shifted the structures with the help of jacks and rods across the country. We have conserved buildings and shrines in different states across the country, including a 650-year-old temple in Odisha.”
“I was contacted by the people associated with the church and they wanted it to be shifted as it was facing demolition due to a railway project. It holds heritage value. Such projects have their own challenges and risks as the structures get old with the passage of time, but with experience and precision, we managed to shift it in March this year. It took us 25 days to complete the project. The structure was lifted from its foundation and shifted,” he said.
In this process, jack systems are used to move the buildings manually. After separating the structure from the foundation, jacks are used to lift it to a height of about four to five feet; complete brickwork is done beneath the structure to strengthen it. Iron rods are used as temporary wheels to shift the structure and then placed at the designated site and height.
Vikash, who started working with his family at a very young age, said, “Earlier we also made it to the Worldwide Book of Records for lifting a 650-year-old Shri Gopalji Gopi Naht Matha Temple weighing around 600 tonnes in Khordha, Odisha. It was lifted by four feet with jacks and set the record. In another project in 2014, we straightened a 12th-century temple in Uttarakhand.”
“We are also working on another project to straighten an old temple in Odisha. Though it is our work, and we lift and shift other buildings as well, it gives us satisfaction when we help preserve the country's heritage and old shrines. I personally believe that all the heritage buildings and shrines must be protected instead of demolishing them if they are coming in the way of any developmental projects. The government must protect all the heritage sites by shifting them to nearby locations,” said Vikash, who is the owner of Shri Ram Building Lifting.