Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 22: Dogra Sadar Sabha (DSS) has expressed shock and dismay at the pathetic condition of the historic Mubarak Mandi complex where many iconic buildings appear to be moving towards obliteration.
According to a press release, issued by DSS here today, Th Gulchain Singh Charak, former Minister and President Dogra Sadar Sabha, today visited the Mubarak Mandi complex where he found that the old library building adjacent to the erstwhile Army Headquarter building had collapsed.
Charak observed that the collapsed library building had also pulled down a portion of the adjoining wall of the erstwhile Army Headquarter building, restored long back, where the rare artifacts of the Dogra Arts Museum as well as the 8 lakh files and records of archives have been temporarily kept. Moreover, some of the other walls of the said Army Headquarter building have also developed cracks which, along with the leaking roofs of the building, presented a pathetic sight.
President DSS was also astonished to see that the roof of several other buildings in the complex had been pulled down, in the garb of conservation work, without providing any protection to the standing walls of the buildings, from the rains during the Monsoon period. He expressed the apprehension that if the current state of affairs and the present level of callousness on part of the concerned authorities continue, then many historic buildings are likely to be reduced into rubble during this monsoon itself.
During his visit, Charak also observed that as per the sign boards installed at the location, the erstwhile Library building appears to have been contracted out for “Adaptive use as cafeteria” to some M/s Ravindra Kumar of Mathura (UP). It was not made known, however, whether such reuse is being executed as per the approved ‘Comprehensive Conservation and Reuse Plan’, and what were the credentials of the agency engaged in executing the work and which methodology had been adopted for its engagement.
The DSS demanded immediate appointment of an investigation committee with adequate Dogra representation to find out the causes of inordinate delay in executing the conservation works, though requisite clearances and funds for the works taken in hand were reportedly made available over two years ago. Further, to get a firsthand account of the far from satisfactory ongoing practices, the former minister requested Lt Governor to kindly make it convenient for a personal visit at an early date.
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