Heritage fades at city’s oldest surviving police chowki

After a restoration project by Intach, Barh Ki Chowki's heritage structure has been altered significantly, losing its original character.

NEW DELHI : Three years after a conservation project undertaken by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) restored Barh Ki Chowki — Delhi’s oldest surviving police chowki in Sarai Rohilla — the early 19th-century heritage structure has lost much of its original character after being painted an off-white shade and altered in ways that have undone key aspects of the restoration, HT has learnt.

In one of the changes, the facade of the Barh Ki Chowki building in Sarai Rohilla had been repainted (Sanchit Khanna &Vipin Kumar/ HT photo )

When HT visited Barh Ki Chowki earlier this week, the office of the anti-auto theft squad was operating from the premises. The facade of the building had been repainted, while the garden developed by Intach around the structure had been concretised.

Police personnel present at the premises claimed they were unaware of when the alterations were carried out, despite operating from the site. “When we started working here, the painting had already been done,” an officer said.

A senior police officer aware of the matter confirmed to HT that the changes were made a few months ago. “The local staff from the district decided to do it as they believed the structure was gathering dust and needed repairs,” the officer said.

When contacted, deputy commissioner of police (north) Raja Banthia said, “We are looking into the matter.”

An Intach official said the organisation was aware of the alterations and was disappointed by them. “It’s disappointing, but Intach had no role to play after the restoration of the structure,” the official said.

According to police, when Barh Ki Chowki was “rediscovered”, it was in a dilapidated state and hidden behind a temporary structure from where the anti-auto theft squad operated. Its roof had collapsed and dense vegetation had grown around the walls.

During restoration, Intach repaired the damaged roof, removed trees intertwined with the structure, filled gaps and cracks that had developed over the years, installed doors and windows, removed porta cabins blocking the chowki’s view, and illuminated the building.

At present, however, the garden has been concretised, the well remains filled with dried leaves, and a porta cabin has once again been erected.

Believed to have been built in the early 1800s, Barh Ki Chowki functioned as a police post under Sabzi Mandi police station from 1923 to 1963 before eventually falling into disrepair.

The structure was “rediscovered” in 2006 by assistant sub-inspector Rajender Kalkal while he was researching a coffee table book for Delhi Police. Intach and the National Culture Fund later took up its restoration in March 2022.

Kalkal earlier told HT that Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu, an organisation working on art and culture, informed him about an early 19th-century book, Sair-Ul-Manazil, written by Mirza Sangin Beg, which documented old establishments in Delhi.

The book mentioned the existence of a “Badi Chowki” in the sarai of Rahullah Khan.

Historian Swapna Liddle, who edited an English translation of Sair-Ul-Manazil, said the book refers to the post as “Bad ki Chowki