AGRA
HERITAGE WEEK ENDS........NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT IT
The Fatehpur Sikri complex continues to be threatened by illegal activities of the mining mafia which have been carrying on even though the Supreme Court has given a categorical directive to the district authorities to stop.
ASI is proving helpless and unequal to the challenge posed by a spate of illegal constructions around protected monuments in Agra.
Though it has been regularly shooting out letters to the Agra Development Authority (ADA) pointing out how the 1958 Monuments Protection Act was being flagrantly violated, the cold response to its complaints has baffled officials of the department.
The ASI has been routinely circulating a list of 50 odd monuments in Agra which came under the purview of the said Act. The ADA is responsible for ensuring there were no new constructions around these buildings.
Historical buildings or remnants like Jodhabai's chatri, Jaswant Singh ki Chatri, Chini ka Roza, Humayun's mosque, Babar's Ram Bagh, Barahkhambha and scores of other valuable architectural pieces are under threat of losing their identity as encroachers continue to gobble up every inch of space.
Some of the dilapidated landmarks are being used as cowsheds or serve as havens for anti-social elements.
ADA officials privately confess that demolition of all illegal structures was beyond their capacity as political pressures would prevent any major offensive against encroachers.
HERITAGE WEEK ENDS........NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT IT
Agra, Nov 26, 2014 (IANS)
The Heritage Week that began
November 19 ended without anyone in Agra even noticing or feeling its impact.
Except for painting competitions
for school students held in Agra and Vrindavan, the ASI did nothing to bond the
local population with their heritage to instil a sense of
pride.
Neither the monuments were cleaned,
spruced up nor encroachments that are dwarfing the structures, demolished. A few
stray banners did however suggest that a special week was being observed.
The crude reality is that the "aam
admi" in Agra hardly feels a sense of pride or emotional attachment with the
world famous architectural treasures. Rather the locals see the monuments as a
hurdle to their economic progress due to a whole lot of restrictions imposed by
the Supreme Court of India to protect the Taj Mahal from environmental
pollution.
Another city in India or elsewhere,
with three world heritage monuments and countless prized historical showpieces
would have got involved in the "Hereitage Week" celebrations and created a
euphoria whose hangover would have been felt for several weeks, says
conservationist Rajan Kishore.
"Beyond
sending a press release, themandarins in the ASI did nothing tangible to create
awareness," said Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage
Conservation Society.
"The list of charges from corrupt practices, including promotion of re-selling of entrance tickets and shoddy conservational work, grows longer each year."
It is high time the maintenance and management of the classic heritage monuments in Agra were handed over to professionals and specialists, Sharma suggested.
Agra, about 200 km south of Delhi, has three world heritage monuments - the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri - and numerous other buildings and sites that draw lakhs of tourists round the year.
Eminent Mughal historian R. Nath said: "The mandarins in ASI, mostly passion-less babus, have little idea about history, culture or modern day conservational practices. Many have not even read the original Marshal manual or the insightful reports of the past."
Perhaps the greatest threat to heritage monuments is the encroachments.
ASI says state government agencies have not provided it much needed support and police backup to deter the encroachers from trespassing the restricted zones.
The protected Roman Catholic cemetery at Bhagwan Talkies crossing has been reduced to a vast public lavatory. It is now surrounded by a picture hall, a petrol pump and a shopping complex.
"The entire boundary wall and the open space between the road and the wall is used as an open toilet by autorickshaw drivers and even policemen. The smaller protected landmarks all along the Bypass road are now hardly visible," says activist Anand Rai.
The view of the beautiful Etmauddaula tomb from the Yamuna Kinara road has been obstructed by a new bridge, so callously built in the restricted zone. The water pipeline installed by the Agra Water Works along the river bank is a monstrosity and an ugly visual pollutant, he adds.
Almost all the Mughal monuments have been dwarfed by encroachments that not only make movement difficult but pose a serious threat to the bare survival of some of these historical buildings.
The Taj Mahal, surrounded by the neighbourhoods of the Taj Ganj locality, has been able to breathe easy because of the Supreme Court and international concern for its safety. Other monuments are not so lucky.
Delhi Gate close to the Raja Mandi station finds itself threatened by new constructions, but the district authorities do not have the courage to act against the powerful encroachers.
"A whole Medical Mandi has come up in the area which once had community ponds," says conservationist Shravan Kumar Singh.
"The list of charges from corrupt practices, including promotion of re-selling of entrance tickets and shoddy conservational work, grows longer each year."
It is high time the maintenance and management of the classic heritage monuments in Agra were handed over to professionals and specialists, Sharma suggested.
Agra, about 200 km south of Delhi, has three world heritage monuments - the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri - and numerous other buildings and sites that draw lakhs of tourists round the year.
Eminent Mughal historian R. Nath said: "The mandarins in ASI, mostly passion-less babus, have little idea about history, culture or modern day conservational practices. Many have not even read the original Marshal manual or the insightful reports of the past."
Perhaps the greatest threat to heritage monuments is the encroachments.
ASI says state government agencies have not provided it much needed support and police backup to deter the encroachers from trespassing the restricted zones.
The protected Roman Catholic cemetery at Bhagwan Talkies crossing has been reduced to a vast public lavatory. It is now surrounded by a picture hall, a petrol pump and a shopping complex.
"The entire boundary wall and the open space between the road and the wall is used as an open toilet by autorickshaw drivers and even policemen. The smaller protected landmarks all along the Bypass road are now hardly visible," says activist Anand Rai.
The view of the beautiful Etmauddaula tomb from the Yamuna Kinara road has been obstructed by a new bridge, so callously built in the restricted zone. The water pipeline installed by the Agra Water Works along the river bank is a monstrosity and an ugly visual pollutant, he adds.
Almost all the Mughal monuments have been dwarfed by encroachments that not only make movement difficult but pose a serious threat to the bare survival of some of these historical buildings.
The Taj Mahal, surrounded by the neighbourhoods of the Taj Ganj locality, has been able to breathe easy because of the Supreme Court and international concern for its safety. Other monuments are not so lucky.
Delhi Gate close to the Raja Mandi station finds itself threatened by new constructions, but the district authorities do not have the courage to act against the powerful encroachers.
"A whole Medical Mandi has come up in the area which once had community ponds," says conservationist Shravan Kumar Singh.
The Fatehpur Sikri complex continues to be threatened by illegal activities of the mining mafia which have been carrying on even though the Supreme Court has given a categorical directive to the district authorities to stop.
ASI is proving helpless and unequal to the challenge posed by a spate of illegal constructions around protected monuments in Agra.
Though it has been regularly shooting out letters to the Agra Development Authority (ADA) pointing out how the 1958 Monuments Protection Act was being flagrantly violated, the cold response to its complaints has baffled officials of the department.
The ASI has been routinely circulating a list of 50 odd monuments in Agra which came under the purview of the said Act. The ADA is responsible for ensuring there were no new constructions around these buildings.
Historical buildings or remnants like Jodhabai's chatri, Jaswant Singh ki Chatri, Chini ka Roza, Humayun's mosque, Babar's Ram Bagh, Barahkhambha and scores of other valuable architectural pieces are under threat of losing their identity as encroachers continue to gobble up every inch of space.
Some of the dilapidated landmarks are being used as cowsheds or serve as havens for anti-social elements.
ADA officials privately confess that demolition of all illegal structures was beyond their capacity as political pressures would prevent any major offensive against encroachers.
If a star monument like the Taj Mahal can
not be maintained according to classical norms described in the ASI manual, it
is high time to review the existing framework within which the officials
conservationists operate, suggests historian Amit Mukherjea.
The ASI has not been able to demolish and
remove the debris from the controversial Taj Corridor that was illegally
developed by the Mayawati government in 2003 between the Fort and the Taj. The
corridor continues to remain an ugly eyesore for tourists but the ASI has failed
to make any move to green the 80 acre land acquired from the Yamuna river bed.
Historians and conservationists in Agra feel
that the ASI should now be in the hands of professional conservationists and
historians of repute who are passionate about their job.
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