18 heritage buildings get revamp

Keeping its promise of giving a new lease of life to monuments across the city, the Department of Archaeology is ready with the restoration work of as many as 18 heritage buildings ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

Keeping its promise of giving a new lease of life to monuments across the city, the Department of Archaeology is ready with the restoration work of as many as 18 heritage buildings ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

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The work carried out well within the budget and deadline was inaugurated on Monday.

The restoration work was outsourced to the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
The monuments got a revamp even as the premises were landscaped and the structures illuminated.

“We have put security personnel at every single monument to guard the structures,” said Keshav Chandra, Director, Department of Archaeology.

“The Capital has many more public art installations in the form of the monuments,” said A.G. K Menon of INTACH.
The monuments, which were conserved, landscaped and illuminated by the department, include Gol Gumbad near Lodi Road flyover, Bijuri Khan Ka Gumbad (R. K. Puram), a tomb inside a DDA Park (Lado Sarai), Mutiny Memorial (Ridge area, near Pul Bangash) and Turkman Gate (near Ramlila Maidan).

Far away from this place, in south Delhi, people visiting the DDA Park behind Priya Complex in Vasant Vihar, were unaware of a beautiful 15th century structure till it was freed of encroachers last year and then taken up for restoration. Today, there are no traces of the decades of illegal occupation at the Bara Lao Ka Gumbad.