Eye on Heritage City status,Delhi dresses up for the Games

With many monuments and historical sites getting a facelift,signage and heritage-related literature being prepared and heritage routes that fall on the Games venues being spruced up,the first phase of Heritage City project is being taken care of. Officials of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH),a heritage conservation body that conceptualized and proposed the Heritage City project,feel the Games will facilitate the project and by the end of next year the foundation for it will be laid.

A G K Menon,Convenor (Delhi Chapter) INTACH,said,“Several agencies are working on different aspects like conservation of monuments,streetscaping,arrangement of tourist buses and preparation of signage and heritage-related literature. By the end of next year the pace will be set for further preparation and when the smaller pieces are taken care of,the jigsaw puzzle will fit in.”

“Once the city starts shaping up and there is a comprehensive heritage identity we will request the Ministry of Culture to propose Delhi for the Heritage City status granted by the UNESCO,” Menon added.

The project suffered a blow initially as various agencies were involved and there was lack of coordination. The agencies involved in the project include the Delhi Development Authority (DDA),Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD),Public Works Department (PWD) and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

With the Games approaching,the ASI is undertaking large-scale conservation work on 46 monuments and the Department of Archaeology will notify and protect at least 92 monuments by next September. Out of the 92,14 monuments have been identified for conservation and a fund of Rs 7.5 crore has been sanctioned by the Union government to the state Department of Archaeology,Menon said. “The heritage routes have been sanctioned,but first the areas near the Games venues are being spruced. The route from Red Fort to Humayun’s Tomb is being done on a priority basis with the ASI working on Purana Qila and the MCD has signed us up to give Firozshah Kotla a facelift,” Menon told Newsline.

The INTACH and the DDA have also signed a MoU to develop the Coronation Park,proposed as the starting point of the heritage route that will go via Red Fort to Humayun’s Tomb. The PWD has also commenced work on streetscaping several important roads like Lodhi Road and Bhairon Road.

The Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation,meanwhile,has approved the ‘hop-on,hop-off’ buses proposed for the heritage routes and is in the process of identifying suitable buses and estimating the number of buses required.

“We are preparing extensive heritage-related literature for tourists who will visit the city during Games. This will be useful even after the event is over. The ten heritage walks that we had proposed to the Delhi government have also been approved,” Menon added.