Let the monuments glow

The beautifully lit jharokhas (overhanging balconies with pierced stone screens) at the Red Fort attract a lot of appreciative looks from visitors.

The beautifully lit jharokhas (overhanging balconies with pierced stone screens) at the Red Fort attract a lot of appreciative looks from visitors.

HT Image

Delhi’s centuries-old monuments are on their way to achieve the same — with a Rs 6.98-cr boost from the Centre.

On the lines of illumination of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments ahead of the Commonwealth Games 2010, the archaeology department of the Delhi government will get help for conservation and illumination of over a dozen monuments situated near various Games venues or at prominent locations.

Mutiny Memorial (on the northern ridge), Makbara Paik (Mukerba Chowk), Turkman Gate (near Ram Lila Maidan), Bada Laav Ka Gumbad & Baradari (Vasant Vihar) and Mohd Quli Khan’s tomb (Mehrauli) apart from a turret and a mosque inside the Lodhi Garden are some of the prominent ones in the list of monuments that would be preserved, conserved and illuminated before the Games in October.

“The Union Ministry of Tourism has already transferred 80 per cent of the amount and the work would start soon,” a senior government official said.

The list includes monuments still to be notified by the department but are in the pipeline like the Bijri Khan Ka Gumbad (R K Puram), the official said.

The monuments would be ready along with illumination work well before the Games, he added.

The other monuments to be illuminated in the list are: A mosque, gateway and four walls (Lodi Garden), Munda Gumbad (DDA Park, Hauz Khas) and Mosque Darvesh Shah (Khel Gaon).

The ministry of tourism, through India Tourism Development Corporation, is also working on illumination of more than 24 ASI protected monuments in Delhi.