Whose heritage is it, anyway?

A hue and cry had been raised by heritage watchers as the wall was protected and had been unceremoniously dismantled last week.

Officially, 3.5 metres of it was allowed to be dismantled. The request came from the Delhi administration, as the there was a 8220;grave risk8221; of accidents. There are at least 3-4 traffic jams every day, said Shankar, justifying permission to raze the structure.

In fact, the wall had been dismantled by the DDA in 1988 but when ASI protested, they were allowed to rebuild the wall. 8220;We decided to revert our own stand asthere was no other alternative,8221; said Shankar.

It was a MCD proposal pending before them from 1995, but ASI had put it on hold. According to some of the officials, it was not of any architectural importance in that sense, because it is typical of a wall of that period made of rubble and boulders. 8220;The wall has been well-documented with photo drawings and can be reproduced any time,8221; said an official.

In similar cases, a portion of the Red Fort near the Daryaganj police station was broken to build a railway line. Also, walls near Delhi Gate are missing after encroachers have taken over.

8220;This is for public interest and sometimes the human angle is considered before a decision is taken,8221; said an official.