jaisalmer a popular tourist destination famous for its architecture miniatures and balconies patwonji ki haveli is crumbling the balcony of haveli number 3127b caved in on wednesday raising questions over conservation activityluckily no one was present at the time said mahendra bhai bafna a local resident bafna said the monument was dilapidated and for years the residents have been trying to bring it to the notice of state officials but no action followed he rued the office of the archeological survey of india asi and state art and crafts department is in the haveli the union government had in 1976 declared the haveli a protected monument the state government followed suit in 1979 and included it in the list of protected monuments under the rajasthan monuments and antiquity act 1961health minister a a khan alias duru mian was on a daylong visit to the city on wednesday a delegation of local residents apprised him of the callous attitude of the officials regarding conservation of the monument we havent seen any repairs for years one of the locals complainedthe minister has reportedly assured proper care of the monument in future however art and culture department officials say a portion of the haveli is in illegal possession of an individual and department was not able to carry out conservation activity due to it the patwonji ki haveli is an interesting piece of architecture and is the most important among the havelis in jaisalmer it was the first haveli erected in jaisalmer and it is not a single haveli but a cluster of five small havelis the first among these was constructed in 1805 by guman chand patwa and is the biggest and the most ostentatious it is believed that patwa was a rich and renowned trader of his time he ordered the construction of separate stories for each of his five sons these were completed in 50 years all five houses were constructed in the first 60 years of the 19th centurythe havelis are also known as the mansion of brocade merchants this name has been given probably because the family dealt in threads of gold and silver used in embroidering dresses however there are theories which claim these traders made considerable amount of money in opium smuggling and moneylendingthis is the largest haveli in jaisalmer and stands in a narrow lane it is at present occupied by the government which uses it for various purposes