Maintenance work in 28 out of 46 selected monuments completed for C'Wealth Games

With just two months left for the Commonwealth Games, conservation and maintenance of only 28 out of the 46 selected monuments in the national capital, have been completed.

Out of 46 identified protected monuments at Delhi, work has been completed at 28 monuments and for the remaining ones it will be over by mid-September, minister of state for planning V Narayanasamy, who also has ad-hoc charge of culture minister, told Lok Sabha today.

The maintenance and upkeep work was attended regularly at these monuments to ensure cleanliness, he said, adding basic tourist facilities at all major monuments have been provided.

In reply to a question, he said the ASI has a proposal under consideration for installing solar lights at Jantar Mantar, Purana Qila, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb and Safdarjung's Tomb with the financial and technical assistance from the ministry of new and renewable energy.

To a question whether the UNESCO panel has disapproved installation of solar lights in the above monuments, he said no such disapproval has been received from UNESCO by the Archaeological Survey of India.

To another query, he said none of the Minars at the Red Fort in Delhi is missing.

"Only a part of the turret at Delhi Gate is damaged, even before the portion of the Red Fort was brought under the administrative control of ASI and and its protection as per the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958," he said.