The Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board has initiated repair work of old and historic monuments here to make the city a heritage town of the state. The tourism department is set to spend over Rs 20 crore on the renovation of the Gol Kothi, Moorish Mosque, Buggi Khana and Bhoot Bangla and Durbar Hall, a monument of Indo-Saracenic architecture in the city.
Anjali Bhawra, principal secretary of tourism, on Friday visited the city for inspection of the ongoing work at the 126-year-old Darbar Hall and Moorish mosque, built by Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala.
Bhawra, accompanied by local administration officials and a team of officials from Chandigarh, visited Durbar Hall, Moorish Mosque, and Goal Kothi to take stock of the dilapidated condition of the heritage structures. She said that her visit was focused on reviewing the ongoing work at heritage buildings and need for the preservation of the old monuments after seeing their historic importance.
The city is known for its prominent buildings based on French and Indo-Saracenic architecture.
Deputy commissioner (DC), Jaskiran Singh said that after the visit of the tourism secretary, the district administration has started preparing the budget plan for conservation of other important heritage buildings.
“We have discussed the Kanjli wetland park project for renovation and she has told me to send a proposal for it soon so that the state government can also release funds for it in coming weeks,” Singh said. Presently, the repair work is going on at Durbar Hall and Moorish mosque and would be completed in five months. The work on Darbar Hall is being carried out by the Rajputana Constructions Private Limited, a form from Jaipur, at a cost of Rs 5 crore, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
{{/usCountry}}“We have discussed the Kanjli wetland park project for renovation and she has told me to send a proposal for it soon so that the state government can also release funds for it in coming weeks,” Singh said. Presently, the repair work is going on at Durbar Hall and Moorish mosque and would be completed in five months. The work on Darbar Hall is being carried out by the Rajputana Constructions Private Limited, a form from Jaipur, at a cost of Rs 5 crore, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
{{/usCountry}}The DC said that after conservation of historical monuments, the city once known as ‘Mini Paris of Punjab’ would be promoted as a heritage town of the state, to boost tourism in the city.