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U.P.: Portion of minaret at Fatehpur Sikri’s Jami Masjid falls
A portion of pinnacle of one of the minarets on south west corner at Jami Masjid within the Dargah complex of Fatehpur Sikri was found fallen on Saturday evening
A portion of pinnacle of one of the minarets on south west corner at Jami Masjid within the Dargah complex of Fatehpur Sikri was found fallen on Saturday evening. The stone pieces fell on the roof of mosque but it caused no harm. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official have begun the exercise to get the portion repaired at this UNESCO world heritage monument located 40 kilometre off Agra.
The stone pieces of the pinnacle were found fallen on the roof of Jami Masjid located west of Sheikh Salim Chishti mausoleum near the “Buland Darwaza”. Fatehpur Sikri was built during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar who assigned it the status of capital for a few years but abandoned it for paucity of water.
A staff member of Sheikh Salim Chishti Dargah Committee traced these pieces on Saturday evening when he went on the roof of the Jami Masjid to repair electricity sources. The information was communicated to the ASI officials.
“This Jami Masjid is located to the west of Sheikh Salim Chisti Dargah within Fatehpur Sikri monument. The pinnacle of south west minaret fell on rooftop but it caused no harm. We are analysing the stone pieces to ascertain the specific reason,” said RK Patel, chief superintending archaeologist for Agra circle of ASI .
“Ageing always remains a broader factor but there can be localised reasons also. We have to find if it was damaged by a monkey. Often, there remains a hairline crack during stone carving from one bigger stone which might aggravate and cause such damages” Patel told HT on Sunday.
“We will visit the spot on Monday and repair work would be initiated with due procedure to be followed for ASI protected monuments and pinnacle will be restored at the earliest,” Patel added.
