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Bonhams Auction House.Ten heritage items from Chandigarh, designed by Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier, worth Rs 1.5 crore fetched 2,21,260 pounds (Rs 2.11 crore) at an auction in the UK. A wooden table made for the assembly and administrative building in Chandigarh fetched the highest price of 75,062 UK pounds (Rs 71.57 lakh).
The other items that were auctioned include a writing table, public bench, set of eight easy armchairs, folding screen etc, that were made for use in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Secretariat, and Panjab University (PU).
Ajay Jagga, a city-based advocate and member of the Heritage Protection Cell, Chandigarh, had urged the Ministry of External Affairs and High Commission of India, London, to stall the auction citing a Home Ministry order banning the export and auction of Chandigarh heritage items in foreign countries.
The office of High Commission of India, London, had reportedly conveyed to the advocate that the auction house, Bonham, maintained that the 10 heritage furniture items were procured before 2011, when a ban order on the export and auction of these articles was issued. He also cited a recent ASI order regarding banning the export of heritage items through sea and air ports.
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“I was conveyed by the High Commission of India, London, telephonically that the auction house procured the heritage items prior before 2011. I was told that the high commission has taken up the matter with London metropolitan city police, Scotland, also,” Jagga said.
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