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: Our city is famous globally for Biryani, and heritage sites like the Golconda Fort and the Charminar. Without a doubt, the city is a haven for heritage lovers, many of whom fall in love with the history after a visit. However, just like any other place with layers of history, it is very easy to overlook some of the most important historical sites.
Hyderabad was founded in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the fourth monarch of the Qutb Shahi or Golconda dynasty (1518-1687), after he decided to move out of the Golconda Fort that year. The fort, prior to that, was a walled city and to this day it has parts that have been largely forgotten. The city our founders built was destroyed in 1687 by the Mughals as part of their southern conquest, and the Asaf Jahis were later appointed as Nizams of Hyderabad (Deccan) by the Mughals in 1724.
On the occasion of World Heritage Day, Siasat.com brings for our readers list of beautiful and lesser known heritage sites, that are a must for locals and tourists alike. Heritage, which is nothing but something that is passed down from one generation to another, must be nurtured and preserved. These are considered to be the soul of a city.
Badhshahi Ashurkhana
Unlike the Charminar, which is on every tourists’s must-see list, the Badshahi Ashurkhana more often than not gets overlooked. Not only is it the second oldest monument of Hyderabad that was built by our founding king, it is also one of the handful of historical sites that still has some of its persian tiles left.
The Badshahi Ashoorkhana was constructed between 1592-96, sometime after the Charminar was built in 1591. Like other Ashoorkhanas, this one too saw bad days for nearly a century after the Qutb Shahi dynasty fell to Aurangzeb’s army in 1687. And it wasn’t until Nizam Ali (the second monarch of the Asaf Jahi dynasty) came to power that the Badshahi Ashoorkhana was given an annual grant.
The Badhshahi Ashurkhana’s wall. (Image: Siasat)
An Ashoorkhana is where Shia Muslims mourn during Ashura, the 10th of Moharram. The place is dedicated to Imam Hussain, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad who was killed in the battle of Karbala. Hussain was the son of Imam Ali, the prophet’s son-in-law (and cousin).
Naya Qila in Golconda Fort
The Naya Qila area is in fact believed to be about 500 years old, and is a part of the Golconda dynasty’s (which founded Hyderabad in 1591) remaining heritage in our city. 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.
The centuries old baobab tree in the Naya Qila area of Golconda fort. (Photo: Yunus Y. Lasania)
Opposite the Majnu Bastion is the Laila Bastion. 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.
British Residency
The Residency building was essentially the first major building built for the British East India Company in Hyderabad. It remained so until 1947, when the British left and it was after until September 1948 (when the Hyderabad state was annexed to India through the military offensive Operation Polo), that it came under the eventual state government, which decided to hand it over to Osmania University.
It was built after the British and the second Nizam of Hyderabad (1762-1803) signed a treaty in 1798, formally allowing the British to settle down here.
The British Residency. (Image: Yunus Y. Lasania)
The structure in fact was also the place where angry Rohilla (Afghan soldiers) working in Hyderabad attacked the British during India’s first war in independence on July 17, 1857. The charge was led by Maulvi Allauddin and Turrebaz Khan, who led citizens of Hyderabad from the Mecca Masjid to the Residency building after the Friday prayers.
Visitors have to visit its website and can book entry tickets.
Raymond’s Tomb
Monsieur Michel Joachim Marie Raymond is a name that most Hyderabadis are not familiar with today, but in the late 18th century, during the period of Hyderabad’s second Nizam, he was believed to be a local hero of sorts. Raymond, who live here during the reign of Nizam Ali Khan (second Nizam) of the Asaf Jahi dynasty (1724-1948), was essentially sent to Hyderabad around the 1780s by the French from Madras to take over the French troops her long before the Nizams and the British formally sealed an exclusive agreement in 1798.
The obelisk of the French commander at Moosarambagh. (Photo: Yunus Y. Lasania)
A french man from Gascony, he landed in the French port at Pondicherry first in 1775, after which he went to Mysore where he worked under Hyder Ali (Tipu Sultan’s father). He later began working under another French commander named De Bussy, following which Raymond arrived in Hyderabad around 1786. According to legend, in March 1798, he shot and buried his two dogs and horse, then killed himself. His grave was marked with an obelisk, behind which there is a beautiful pavilion.
Nizams Museum (Purani Haveli)
Unlike the Salar Jung Museum, which is a major tourist attraction in Hyderabad, the privately-run Nizams museum is in fact a definite hidden gem. It houses many artefacts that were presented to Osman Ali Khan, Hyderabad’s last and seventh Nizam, on occasion of his 25th silver jubilee anniversary in 1937 (celebrations were postponed to a year later).
A view of the Purani Haveli palace in which the Nizams Museum is situated. (Image: Abinaya Sivagnanam).
The museum, apart from its artefacts, also has on display the world’s largest wardrobe at 176 feet that belonged to Hyderabad’s sixth Nizam Mahbub Ali Pasha. Entry fee here is slightly higher than other places. The place is situated inside the Purani Haveli palace, which is in the lane just after the Princess Durru Shevar Hospital in the Old City.
Hyderabad: Telangana chief secretary of Urban Development Arvind Kumar, on Friday called for the recognition of more historic places in the city as world heritage sites by UNESCO.
Arvind Kumar participated in the 14th edition of the Institute of Indian Interior Designers (popularly called I.I.I.D) Design Awards 2022, held at the JRC Convention Center in Filmnagar. and handed lifetime achievement awards to Sona Chatwani and Raaj Sree Ram for their effort in the field of Interior Designing.
Chairman, IIID, Manoj Wahi said that the Awards known to be the oldest industry awards in the interior designing industry were given under 12 various categories honouring interior design professionals in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
He also urged the government of Telangana that IIID wants to have its own Center for Excellence as it is a long-felt need.
Speaking on the occasion, Arvind Kumar said “Hyderabad is a fast-growing city. Recently the famous photographer Raghu who visited Hyderabad made a very good observation claiming that the buildings in city were different from the rest of the country.”
“They have music in them, and they speak. We would like to document this. HMDA has tied up with Raghu Rao to bring out a Coffee Table book in the next year,” added Arvind Kumar.
“Since TS B-Pass, Telangana layout and building permission approval along with self-certification system, we have given sanctions to 1,96,544 building plans to date,” said the secretary.
Highlighting the recent developments in the state, Arvind said, “we have recently announced a cool roofing policy and made EV charging facility mandatory in some buildings while making 25 percent of the parking space earmarked for EV Charging.”
Seeking IIID-HRC to uptake lake restoration in the city, Arvind said, “we have identified 185 lakes to be restored. 90 of them were adopted. We need more to be adopted.”
“The adoption includes strengthening the bund, creation of greenery, beautification and utilisation of open spaces,” said Arvind urging interior designers, architects, and builders in the audience to come forward to adopt them.
Similarly, he said 85 traffic junctions have been improved. work on 114 is in progress. “Under HMDA limits itself there are 126 traffic junctions. If there are any traffic junctions in your locality, please encourage them to be adopted,” he told the audience.
“We are also working on reviving the heritage structures, and step-wells. The ideal mix of old and new structures makes a city a healthy one,” claimed Arvind adding that a total of 24 step wells are either restored or under restoration.
Speaking further Arvind Kumar added that if design intervention happens in public spaces, the city would turn more vibrant.
During the event, the senior bureaucrat of the municipal administration mooted the idea of an MoU with IIID to make Hyderabad a better place.
Gurugram: Three men were arrested for running a gang that allegedly duped women from different states after befriending them through matrimonial sites, police here said on Wednesday.
A Nigerian national who is reportedly the kingpin of the gang is absconding and police are conducting raids to nab him, they said.
A senior police officer said that the accused were identified as Aman Kumar, 26, Rahul Singh, 28, and a 38-year-old Santosh Kumar all residents of Delhi.
The accused targeted women on matrimonial sites posing themselves as prospective grooms from abroad.
After befriending a woman posing as a foreign national, a gang member would ask her to send costly gift items, and other gang members would force her to cough up money in the name of tax and custom clearance posing as custom officials.
An FIR was lodged in the matter first when Shampa Pal, a native of Kolkata who lives in Chakkarpur area here, filed a complaint on February 9 alleging she was duped of over Rs 13 lakh.
“I got in touch with a man through Instagram, who claimed to be a doctor in the UK. Soon after he shared his WhatsApp number also,” Pal said in her complaint, according to police.
At one point during their friendship, the man asked Pal to send her some gold and 20,000 British pounds.
On January 30, she got a call from a woman who said she was calling from a courier company.
“She told me that to get the parcel of gold and pounds I must pay tax and she shared a Union Bank account number to transfer money.
“The first time, I transferred Rs 55,000, then subsequently Rs 3,27,920, Rs 1,85,000, Rs 3,39,287, and Rs 3 lakh. After this, she again called me for Rs 7,26,000 more,” Pal wrote.
Following her complaint, an FIR was registered at Cyber Crime, East, Police Station on February 9 and the alleged frauds were arrested.
“We are conducting raids to nab other members of this gang. We are questioning the accused and hope many cases will be solved during the interrogation,” said Priyanshu Dewan, ACP, Cyber.
Damascus: Israel launched a fresh missile attack against military sites in the central Syrian province of Homs after midnight Sunday, the state TV reported.
Syrian air defenses were triggered by the attack, intercepting some of the missiles, according to the report.
The pro-government Sham FM radio said that four soldiers were wounded in the attack, which hit a military base in the western countryside of Homs, Xinhua News Agency reported.
It was Israel’s third attack against Syrian military sites since Thursday.
Srinagar, Mar 29: Experts and people in Kashmir have urged government to take steps for preservation of fossil sites and use them for promotion of tourism.
Mudasir Ahmad a geology expert and vocational trainer from Kulgam told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that tourists rarely visit Aherbal and other sites during lean season but these fossil sites can be promoted as alternate ourist destinations.
“There is need to conserve these fossil sites as these sites are potential resources in every respect and every organization must come forward to preserve them,” he said.
Gulam Ahmad another expert told KNO that fossil sites are very rare but fortunately few sites were discovered in Kulgam district recently and there is a need to preserve them.
He said that the government must take cognizance at the earliest and take immediate steps for its preservation and promotion as it will help us in getting more resources.
Experts said that the sites can be preserved with a little care and they can provide a lot of information about our rich geological past to the future generations.
They emphasised the need to protect and preserve the rich geo heritage by educating the community and locals about the need and significance of preserving them.
People in Kulgam area have also demanded that fossil sites that were discovered last year must be preserved and promoted as tourist sites. The sites are at Noorabad in Kulgam.
Kashmir is rich in fossils that date back millions of years.
Mushtaq Ahmad Beigh, Deputy Director Archives, Archaeology and Museum, Srinagar told KNO steps are being taken for the preservation of fossil sites.
He said department along with tourism department is planning to establish at site museum in Aherbal area in Kulgam to promote and boost tourism sector as well.
He said that Kulgam where fossil sites were discovered are in snow bound area and every possible step will taken for preservation of fossil sites as site plan and markings have been already done.
Mumbai: Fans are excited to see the Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor in LUV Ranjan’s ‘Tu Jhooti Main Makkaar’ and the film has released today in theaters. The film which also stars Shraddha Kapoor in lead role has managed to remain in headlines as the trailer and songs of the film which were released on official YouTube channel of makers were loved by the audiences.
Both Ranbir and Shraddha who are pairing up for the first time for a film left no stone unturned to promote their project. As the makers are expecting that the film will be a blockbuster, here comes a major challenge for them as it has been leaked online in HD format on various torrent sites on the day of its release.
According to various reports, ‘Tu Jhooti Main Makkar’ has leaked online and is available on sites like Filmyzilla, Tamilrockers, Movierulz, Telegram, 123movies in 1080p, 720p, 480p,360p,240p and HD. Various films have gotten affected earlier after they were leaked online and we hope that ‘TJMM’ will manage to attract audiences to the theaters.
According to the Copyright Act of 1957, piracy is a criminal offence and violators of the law get punished and we at Siasat.com urge all our readers to watch the film only in theaters or on authorised OTT platforms after it gets released digitally.
In the past, we have observed that various makers lost money because of piracy and it has impacted the careers of various actors and actresses. So, again we reiterate that it takes a lot of effort to put into the making of any film, so watch movies only in theatres.
Let’s wait and see how the film performs at the box office.
Tehran: Iran has allowed increased inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its nuclear sites, the official news agency IRNA reported Sunday, just after the IAEA chief’s two-day visit to Tehran.
In an interview with IRNA published on Sunday, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), said the IAEA inspections of Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP) have now increased to 11 from eight, commenting on the reports of a 50-per cent rise in the IAEA’s inspections of Iranian nuclear sites, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Since uranium enrichment to a 60-per cent level recently started at FFEP, inspections of the site should increase according to the safeguards agreements, Kamalvandi explained.
“Basically, any rise in the enrichment level at or entry of more sensitive materials into nuclear facilities lead to an increase in the inspections according to what the two sides agreed upon,” he said.
However, no agreement was reached between IAEA and AEOI regarding the installation of new surveillance cameras at Iranian nuclear sites, Kamalvandi noted.
Kamalvandi also ruled out “unlimited access” for the IAEA to three sites where the agency was reported to have “detected traces of uranium,” saying the international nuclear watchdog made no such request.
In a joint statement issued at the end of IAEA’s Director General Rafael Grossi’s visit on Saturday, the AEOI and IAEA said they have reached a consensus that their interactions should be carried out “in a spirit of collaboration and in full conformity with the competencies of the IAEA and Iran’s rights and obligations.”
In recent months, the IAEA had criticized Iran for its lack of cooperation with the agency.
In November last year, the IAEA’s Board of Governors passed a resolution proposed by the US, Britain, France and Germany that called on Iran to collaborate with the agency’s investigators regarding “uranium traces.”
Iran has repeatedly rejected such allegations and emphasized the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday visited the Okhla landfill site and said the target is to clear the city of all three mountains of garbage by December 2024.
Kejriwal, during his visit to the site in south Delhi, was accompanied by his cabinet colleague Kailash Gahlot, Mayor Shelly Oberoi and Municipal Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti.
The monstrous Okhla landfill was commissioned in 1990s and it reached its saturation point several years ago.
The Okhla landfill site contains about 40 lakh MT of legacy waste in it.
In the last few years, about 20-25 lakh MT have been removed from it, but about 40 lakh MT still remains in it, Kejriwal told reporters at the site.
“The scheduled set target to remove this mountain of garbage is by May 2024. But, all officers and engineers are working on it, and our target is to try to remove it by December 2023, instead of May next year,” he said.
There is a lot of capacity for biomining here (about 17,000 MT), but the capacity to remove waste from the landfill and dispose it is less, the chief minister said.
Its current daily disposal capacity is 4,000-4,500 MT. But, by April 1, “we will augment it to 10,000 MT daily”, he added.
Kejriwal said he will visit the Okhla landfill site again to carry out an inspection on April 1.
“And, by June, we expect to augment it further to 15,000 MT daily disposal capacity. If we go by 15,000 MT capacity, then by December-January, we will reach out target of cleaning this (Okhla) site by December-January, and local residents will also get relief,” he said.
Similarly, work is underway at Ghazipur and Bhalswa landfill sites, and when we will visit there in the next couple of days, we will take stock of the situation there too, he said.
Asked when will Delhi become free of these landfill sites, he said, “One will be cleared by May, and another one six months later.”
So, December next year, that is our target, he added.
Speaking to PTI, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot noted that the AAP government is hopeful that Delhi will be free from all the landfill sites by December 2024.
On the Okhla landfill site, he said, “We are hopeful of achieving the daily disposal rate of 10,000 MT by April, and 15,000 MT by June.”
The minister also spoke on the upcoming Delhi budget.
“The budget will be on time. We are having a series of meetings, and very soon we will finalise the budget. Delhi will get it on time,” he said.
Talking about the alternatives once the landfill sites are cleared, Kejriwal said waste-to-energy plants and biomethanation plants will help in the disposal of waste.
However, he did not elaborate on it, more so when Delhi generates a massive amount of waste daily.
The city cumulatively generates around 11,400 metric tonnes of garbage, out of which nearly 6,200 metric tonnes is dumped at three landfills, that is, Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalaswa, civic officials had said in 2021.
Kejriwal said a plan is to make a big C&D (construction and delomolition) waste plant to make bricks, and a biomethanation plant, after the Okhla landfill site is cleared.
Asked about the stalling of the election of the standing committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, which is affecting civic work, he said, “Work will go on, do not worry.”
Ankara: Historical sites that were devastated by the recent earthquakes in southern Turkey would be restored, a Minister has confirmed.
“Antakya is a mosaic, it is where religions come together,” Mehmet Nuri Ersoy told reporters outside the Antakya Archaeological Museum, noting “the Ministry will be taking on the responsibility of all registered buildings in the area… We will work together to rebuild them”, reports Xinhua news agency
Ersoy added that the damage to historical sites in Antakya had already been identified and marked so as not to be cleared during the clean-up of the rubble.
“We will begin restoration projects as of March,” he said.
Environment and Urban Planning Minister Murat Kurum said on Friday that “84,726 buildings collapsed, were on the verge of collapse, or have suffered severe structural damage”.
The February 6 earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaras province devastated 10 nearby cities.
The devastated areas comprise some of the oldest continuous settlements of Anatolia, and many historical buildings were lost in the disaster.
The district of Antakya, in the southern province of Hatay, suffered one of the worst hits.
Founded in the 4th century B.C., Antakya has been home to countless civilizations, from Alexander the Great to the Ottoman Empire, and was also one of the earliest centres of Christianity.
It also boasts one of the oldest churches in the world, St. Pierre, a cave church from the year 38 A.D., which fortunately survived the earthquake last week.
However, the Habib-i Najjar Mosque in Antakya was completely destroyed.
Becoming a mosque in 638 A.D. when Muslim Arabs took the city, it is considered the first mosque within the borders of modern Turkey.
Another prominent mosque levelled in the earthquake was the Ulu Mosque, built in the 16th century.
The Saints Peter and Paul Eastern Orthodox Church in central Antakya were also destroyed.
First built as a wooden church in the 1830s, the original structure collapsed in another earthquake in 1872.
A stone church built in Byzantine architecture later replaced it in the early 1900s.
