New Delhi: Projection mapping shows have been held at 13 heritage sites across the country, including Red Fort and Gateway of India, to mark the 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio programme “Mann ki Baat”, officials said on Sunday.
The programme was aired on Sunday morning.
On Saturday night, the 13 cultural sites, including ASI-protected monuments such as Mughal-era Red Fort in Delhi and Gwalior Fort in Madhya Pradesh, Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan, Golconda Fort in Telangana, Navratnagarh Fort in Jharkhand, besides the Prime Minister’s Sanghralaya in Delhi were illuminated to mark the occasion.
“To mark the completion of 100th episode of #MannKiBaat, @MinOfCultureGoI with @ASIGoI is celebrating the occasion in a momentous way through activities like projection mapping shows, photo op, message & audio booths at 13 different iconic monuments across the country,” said a tweet from the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’s official Twitter handle on Sunday.
It also shared pictures of the some of the sites taken during the shows held on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, a senior ASI official said the projection mapping will be done at these 13 sites again on Sunday.
However, later in the evening, another senior ASI official said the show was held only at the Prime Minister’s Sangrahalaya in Delhi, and not at ASI sites.
“The special show, which lasted for 20-25 minutes, was woven around the theme of nation-building and was people-centric. Each location highlighted the heritage and historical value of the site and the region where it was projected,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement on Sunday afternoon.
The 13 sites also included Sun Temple in Odisha, Vellore Fort in Tamil Nadu, Ramnagar Fort in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur, Rang Ghar in Assam, the Residency building in Lucknow, and Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat.
The projection mapping shows were open to the public free of cost, and the sites featured various activities and exhibits to make the evening more memorable.
Attendees could listen to pre-installed episodes of ‘Mann Ki Baat’, share their ideas on a message wall, and even take pictures at a specially designed photo booth, the ministry said.
Since its inception on October 3, 2014, “Mann Ki Baat” has been broadcast on the last Sunday of every month at 11 am on All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD). The show reflects the prime minister’s “conviction and desire to have an inclusionary and people-centric approach to governance”, the statement said.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Hyderabad: An expert committee submitted its report to the Telangana High Court recommending immediate measures for the protection of Hill Fort Palace. A committee of experts was formed to review the position of Hill Fort Palace, known as the Ritz Hotel.
The committee said in its report that the building is unsafe and can be protected through immediate repair works. The committee was set up by the National Academy of Construction comprising professors from IIT Hyderabad and NIT Warangal. Heritage experts and an architect were also included in the committee.
In 1915, the Hill Fort Palace was constructed by Sir Nizamat Jung Bahadur, who served as the Chief Justice for the Princely State of Hyderabad, and he resided in it for 15 years. The building was designed with inspiration from the architecture model of Trinity College, Cambridge. Later, in 1929, the palace was purchased by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the VII Nizam of Hyderabad, for his son Moazzam Jah, who was also the head of the city improvement board at the time. Following the annexation of Hyderabad to the Indian Union, the palace was leased out to commercial interests who rebranded it as the Ritz and operated it as a luxury hotel.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice AjalBhuyan and Justice N Tukaram ji sought an explanation from the government on the protection of The Hill Fort Palace on a public interest litigation (PIL).
The government sanctioned Rs 50 crore but the restoration work of the building is yet to begin. The Telangana High Court expressed displeasure over the delay in commencement of construction works.
The tourism department had advised the National Academy of Construction to set up an expert committee. The committee recommended that the government should demolish the existing building and construct a new building. The Chief Justice has sought the government’s stand on the experts’ report. The Telangana government will explain its stand in the high court by June 27.
Patna: The Muslim holy month of Ramzan is noted for being politically significant in Bihar. It was in the Ramzan last year when the screenplay of the second Mahagathbandhan government was scripted when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar went to RJD leader Rabri Devi’s residence for the Iftar party and the government was finally changed in the months of August.
Now, JD-U MLC Khalid Anwar invited Nitish Kumar as a chief guest in the Iftar party in his official residence in Phulwarisharif in Patna and in the background of the stage was the Red Fort, while the caption read: “People of Bihar are along with you. The country is waiting for you, Ramzan Mubarak.”
With this, the JD-U has given a message that Nitish Kumar is eyeing hoisting the national flag next year from the Red Fort.
Earlier in the day, Anwar had placed the posters of Nitish Kumar with the background of the Red Fort in the streets of Patna.
Nitish Kumar himself has denied several times in the past that he had no wish of becoming the Prime Minister. Even Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav claimed in the Assembly that neither does he have a wish to become Chief Minister of Bihar nor does Nitish Kumar have a wish to become the Prime Minister.
However, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during the Nawada rally on Sunday, claimed that Nitish Kumar’s wish to become Prime Minister would not be fulfilled as there is no vacancy for the post. The Red Fort poster could the JD-U’s riposte to the BJP and Amit Shah.
Hyderabad: Close to a fortnight after a scuffle at the historic Naya Qila in the Golconda fort, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials here also clarified that the ancient site is fully open and accessible to the general public. This was made clear after it was found that security personnel of the Hyderabad Golf Club (HGC) have been wrongly preventing visitors from seeing parts of the Naya Qila like the Mustafa Khan mosque.
On March 14, a minor scuffle broke out in front of the Golconda Fort’s Naya Qila area in the early hours. A few drunk men attacked Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) guards and the golf course security personnel who were manning the entry gate. The assailants demanded entry into the Naya Qila area, and stabbed one of the guards, who was taken to a hospital nearby for treatment.
The ASI in fact posted its men round-the-clock after it found that the Hyderabad Golf Club began undertaking work to expand, without permission. The work was stopped by the ASI, after which it put up guards at night in Naya Qila as well. The HGC has occupied a majority of the Naya Qila area of Golconda fort, and has expanded to 18 holes over the years. The club however has no control in the areas which house some important historical sites like a 400-year-old Baobab tree.
In fact, the ASI is pretty clear about the fact that it is the only body that can decide to stop public access or give the same. Officials from ASI said that they had even put up a board outside Naya Qila stating that it os is open for the public to visit from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday. The golf course in the area has its own security guards who man the entry into the site.
What has come to light is that the golf course personnel are not allowing the public to see everything at Naya Qila, and only let people visit the old Baobab tree at the site. The Naya Qila area has two mosques – the Mulla Khyali Masjid and Mustafa Khan Masjid – both of which predate Hyderabad. Aside from having a long periphery of the fort, it also has two huge bastions called Laila and Majnu.
Officials said that while the ASI accepted the golf course’s request to allow expansion, the landscaping work required for it would require permission from the ASI without fail. As none was taken, the ASI intervened and got it stopped. It may be noted that activists have from years questioned how ancient historic land of the Golconda fort was given to private organisations like the HGA.
Naya Qila history
The Naya Qila area is in fact believed to be about over 400 years old, and is a part of the Golconda dynasty’s (which founded Hyderabad in 1591) remaining heritage in Hyderabad. The Naya Qila area, which is now cut-off from the Golconda fort due to local encroachments, was developed into an external fortification after the first Mughal attack (during the time of Emperor Shah Jahan) on Hyderabad in 1656.
It has two huge bastions called Laila and Majnu, of which Majnu continues to be in a state of disrepair after its collapse during monsoons in 2021. The ancient historic site was one of the few places which witnessed damage during heavy rains in 2021 in the fort. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which runs the historical site, was supposed to undertake repairs, but that has not happened so far as well.
The collapsed portion of the Majnu Buruz (bastion), which is located in the Naya Qila area of the historic Golconda fort. The bastion fell when Hyderabad was lashed by heavy rains earlier in October 2020. (Photo: Siasat).
Other parts of Naya Qila which are open to the public are the Baobab tree, which is believed to be over 400 years old (it is said to have been planted there by African friars), the Mustafa Khan Masjid (which was built in 1561 and predates Hyderabad), and the Mulla Khyali Masjid, which is believed to be named after the Deccan poet Mulla Khyali.
While the Majnu Bastion’s collapse is the latest instance of the city’s heritage getting damaged, in the past the HGA had also disallowed the general public from entering the Naya Qila area. However, according the ASI, there is no such restriction and the public is free to visit the place.
The Golconda Fort and the Charminar are two monuments that fall under the jurisdiction of the ASI, which works the central government, while all the other heritage sites like the Qutb Shahi Tombs come under the purview of the Archeology Department of Telangana government. Last year, a petition A petition was also created to save Naya Qila and the Golconda fort by local Hyderabadis.
History of Golconda Fort
The Golconda Fort’s origins are traced back to the 14th century when the Rajah of Warangal Deo Rai (under the Kakatiya Kingdom which ruled from Warangal) built a mud fort. It was taken over by the Bahmani Empire between 1358 and 1375. Later, it was developed into a full-fledged citadel by Sultan Quli who founded the Qutb Shahi kingdom in 1518 following the death of last sovereign of Bahmani Emperor Mahmud Shah.
Sultan Quli was a commander and later governor of Tilang (Telangana), under the Bahmani Empire (1347-1518), when its second capital was at Bidar. Sultan Quli, who was originally from Hamadan in Iran, rose to the level of Governor under the Bahmani Empire in early 16th century. At this point of time he was given the fort, around which he began developing a walled-city. It eventually came to be called Golconda Fort (name derived from Telugu Golla-conda, or shepherds hill).
The fort has 87 bastions, and eight gates, of which a few are not accessible to the general public as they are under the army control. It is believed to be one of the Deccan’s most impregnable forts, and had kept Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s army at bay for eight months until he succeeded and conquered Hyderabad in 1687.
Hyderabad was founded in the year 1591 by Mohd. Quli Qutb Shah, the grandson of Sultan Quli, with the Charminar being the city’s foundation. The city turned 429 years old in 2020.
Agra: The Diwan-e-Aam of Agra Fort has been closed to tourists after deep cracks developed in the ceiling.
A cultural programme was organised for G20 guests on February 11 and locals said the cracks may have been caused by loud music that was played during the cultural programme held in the fort.
Officials of the Archaeological Survey of India in Agra have refused to comment on how these cracks came up.
Dr Rajkumar Patel, Superintending Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India, said that on February 13, the staff inside the monument noticed cracks on the roof of the Diwan-e-Aam.
A team from the ASI went and surveyed the monument and found that cracks on the roof were 2 mm to 6 mm wide.
“As a precautionary measure, the damaged part of the monument has been barricaded and closed so that tourists are not harmed. Tell-tale glasses are also being installed, to measure the crack width variation,” said Patel.
On being asked whether the monument was damaged due to the loud music played during the cultural programme organised in the fort, Dr Patel said it was too early to say anything.
“The report prepared by the ASI team after surveying the damaged monument has been sent to the ASI headquarters in Delhi. It will be decided only after investigation at all levels whether the cracks in the monument were pre-existing or surfaced after the event,” he said.
