E E FR Elephant & Castle Peckham Brixton Camberwell Old Kent Road
Walworth Road Oval Clapham Stockwell Vauxhall
November 2015 Edited in London Uk & International news
/
Events
/
Local Community
/
Sports
Big Ben fall silent for three years The bongs of London’s Big Ben, the popular nickname for the emblematic bell of the clock at the north end of Westminster Palace, may not be heard for around three years due to urgent repairs, estimated to cost about 40 million pounds ($62 million), says British weekly, The Sunday Times. According to sources, the condition of the tower, which houses the Big Ben, the five-tonne clock mechanism, is “ready to fail.” Although there are no structural problems in the tower, defects in the clock hands and a pendulum imbalance are making it increasingly difficult for it to show the exact time, the Times added. The restoration plan also includes installation of an elevator in the tower and other upgrades so as to comply with norms laid down in the strict workplace health and
safety regulations of the country. According to the sources, the administrative committee of the House of Commons has already sanctioned the repairs, at an estimated cost of 40 million pounds. Experts are still unsure about the duration of the repairs, but believe it could last up to three years considering the delicate state of the clock. This is not the first time the clock, which makes a distinctive sound upon striking each hour, half-hour, and quarter-hour, will be stopped - the last time being in 2007. It was also not in operation due to maintenance work in 1934, 1956 and 1990, when a fault had deprived people of hearing its bongs for months in 1976. In 1916, the Big Ben was deliberately silenced to prevent the German Zeppelin airships from using the clock as a navigation landmark. EFE
/
Culture
/
Life Style