Yet again the site has thrown us another surprise for the builders to
deal with. Excavation has been continuing despite the early onset of the
monsoon and areas have had to be covered with large tarpaulin sheets to avoid
flooding. The rain however has proved to be an easy problem compared to the
huge rock which digging gradually revealed as excavations extended to cover the
area required for foundations for the main dormitory blocks.
Another visit by the architect was required to review the situation.
Because of the difficulty of trying to break up the rock which would have to be
done by hand and the consequent time and costs involved, it was decided that it
would be better to change the footprint of the block and take the wall of the
new building away from the rock rather than get rid of the rock. Photos of the
works are attached and although a little difficult to identify the large rock
can be seen jutting out from the soil. The photos also illustrate once more the
slope of the site where works are taking place.
Not all bad news though. The new plan has produced an internal redesign
of the building as well. The repositioning of the toilet block allows the
dormitories to have much bigger windows which will look out over the enormous
view beyond into the valley below and will also provide better through
ventilation. The decision has also been taken to use aluminium window frames as
although these are initially more costly they will be more durable in the longer
term. Wooden windows in any building in Darjeeling suffer from the
non-availability of properly seasoned wood, the rainy conditions and poor
workmanship – and this is without mentioning the termites!
The new plans which are shown here provide more spacious accommodation
with two large dormitories each possibly accommodating 28 boys although Pema
Bhante may not wish to accommodate this number.
