* Takes on spot appraisal of conservation works
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 24: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo today made his maiden visit to the Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex here and took first hand appraisal of all the restoration and conservation works being carried out there.
On the occasion, he was accompanied by Principal Secretary, Culture; Commissioner Secretary, Tourism; Secretary, R&B; DG, Budget; Executive Director, Mabarak Mandi Heritage Society; CEO, JSCL besides other concerned officers.
The Chief Secretary went around different heritage buildings of the complex and took cognizance of the conservation works either done or being carried out there. He enquired about the subsequent plans of the society about adaptive reuse of the structures after their restoration.
Dulloo also asked about the timelines fixed for completion of each conservation and beautification work. He called for carrying out each work with due diligence as the task of heritage conservation is quite technical in nature.
He directed for restoring the original magnificence of the complex besides preserving its aesthetic appeal befitting its past glory. He went inside the renovated Darbar Hall and Dogra Museum besides other structures like Raja Ram Singh’s and Raja Amar Singh Palaces where work is going on.
He also examined other heritage structures like Pink Hall, Gole Ghar, Sheesh Mahal, Maharani Charak Mahal, Guleri Mahal and other internal structures. He called for making a robust plan for their effective conservation and reuse taking the architecture, place and space of each structure into consideration.
During this visit, the Principal Secretary, Culture, Suresh Kumar Gupta highlighted the significance of this heritage complexin promotion of local art and culture. He also informed about the plans for adaptive reuse of the conserved structures besides the other aspects of this mega project.
The Executive Director, MMJHS, Deepika Sharma gave the overall introduction about the aims and objectives of conservation of this complex. She detailed out the works carried out so far, the requirement of funds and the expenditure made till date.
She also explained the future reuse plans for different structures to be used as display galleries, museums, library and cultural centres. Besides she threw light on other aspects of restoration works to be taken-up in the times to come.
The CEO, JSCL, Rahul Yadav provided details of projects carried out under Smart City Mission. He mentioned that the beautification projects like illumination of the completed projects had been done by the JSCL besides the ongoing work on cafeteria is being done by the company itself.
It was given out that in 2005, Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex was declared as a protected monument and in 2006, Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society (MMJHS) was constituted to takeover this complex for its protection, preservation, maintenance and restoration works.
It was further given out that the first vision document for its conservation was prepared by INTACH in the year 2008 and a comprehensive master plan was later prepared and approved in 2019.
Primarily, the complex is zoned out in 06 zones including Public Zone, Knowledge Centre, Interpretation & Collection Galleries, Lifestyle, Experiential Spaces and Crafts Bazaar.
It was also revealed that under this Master Planan amount of Rs144.15 cr is to be spent on different sub-projects of this heritage complex. It was made out that work on few sub-projects has been completed and the work onother sub-projects is apace with remaining of works to be taken-up shortly for their completion on time.
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