Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 13: Minister for Tourism Tassaduq Hussain Mufti today stressed upon the concerned agencies for taking measures to restore and preserve Mubarak Mandi complex, one of the major architectural heritage landmarks of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Minister was chairing a meeting of consultants to reviews the statues of various development works being executed by different agencies to restore the complex.
Secretary Tourism Sarmad Hafeez, Consultants for Mubarak Mandi Heritage Society Munish Pandit and Shikha Jain and various other concerned were present in the meeting.
The Minister was informed that the task of initiating necessary measures for the preservation of Mubarak Mandi complex and restoring it to its original grandeur are at full swing.
Mufti directed for establishing suitable structure along the river side, besides renovating certain structures in central court area and making the site open for public within one year.
He also directed for installing digital panels to educate the people visiting the place about its history and background, besides making them aware that what kind of developmental work are being executed to restore the heritage complex.
The Minister stressed for developing a mobile phone application to show case how the structure would look like at different stage of its renovations and restoration process.
He also urged for taking innovative measures for the promotion and preservation different art works including wall painting, besides looking into the pros and cons of the reuse plan of the heritage structure.
Mufti also directed for organizing exhibitions of the archived art works with innovative and attractive themes, besides encouraging artists to participate and showcase their work in these exhibitions.
He directed the officers to synergize their efforts so that the requisite results are achieved within the stipulated timeframe and also get necessary feedback about the status of work and implementation of various initiatives on the ground.
The Minister sought coordination and cooperation among departments so that target achieving mechanism can be initiated. He also stressed upon concerned officials to work in synergy and enthusiasm to achieve tangible results on ground to preserve and promote the heritage site.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Education, Tourism and Culture, Priya Sethi chaired a meeting with the Executive body of Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society (MMJHS) and reviewed the status of ongoing work on the prestigious project of Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex.
Priya Sethi, said that the Mubarak Mandi restoration work has picked up the momentum in the recent times and disclosed that work on Central Courtyard work has already been taken up and will be completed in record time for the use of public.
The Minister took a detailed assessment of the inception report submitted by the Sanrakshan – a heritage consultancy that has been engaged by the recently constituted Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society (MMJHS) other than Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the restoration work of the heritage complex.
The Minister asked the consultants to create a vision document for entire complex and accordingly set priorities for conservation and adaptive reuse of buildings.
She asked the concerned for swift completion of the work on Royal court and Darbar Hall that is already on finishing stages.
During the meeting, a detailed discussion was held on several issues pertaining to restoration of central courtyard, face-lifting of Dogra Art Museum, development of tourist facilities around heritage complex, display of signage boards depicting history of buildings of the heritage complex, requirement of Engineering staff, energy stabilization, illumination of building and general lighting in central courtyard, creation of website and more alike.
Earlier, the Minister visited different segments of the heritage complex to have on ground appraisal of the ongoing work in the heritage complex.
Follow our WhatsApp channel