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| Offices to vacate Mubarak Mandi complexes by Nov 7 | | Heritage Conservation | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Sept 27: Except for the office of Divisional Commissioner all offices situation in the historic Mubarak Mandi complex have been asked to vacate their premises by November 7 to pave way for renovation and conservation of the buildings as heritage sites.
A decision to this effect was taken in a high level meeting chaired by the Governor NN Vohra here this morning. This first executive body of Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society under chairpersonship of the Governor was held in the Grey Hall of Mubarak Mandi.
Deliberating upon various issues correlated with the conservation work of the historical complex, the Governor stressed on accelerating the pace of execution of renovation, repair works. On the eviction of government offices, the Governor asked the departments which have not vacated as yet to shift their offices latest by November 7, besides offices which have already shifted would hand over the possession by October 5, 2008 to MMJHS except for the Divisional Commissioner's office which will be shifted to the new complex, the work on which is being expedited on war footing.
Regarding the provision of adequate funds, Mr. Vohra emphasized on judicious utilization of the available funds as the remaining additional funds of Rs. 4.5 crore would also be arranged from 13th State Finance Commission Funds. He said this money would be utilized on development of Museums to house artifacts and other valuable items of Dogra era for public view. Out of Rs. 4.37 crore as sanctioned by Government of India for the conservation project, Rs. one crore has been released till date. Emphasis was laid on the utilization of available money to expedite the work as the necessary funds required for the mega project will also be made available at the earliest.
It may be recalled here that the process of documentation of the entire Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex has already been completed by INTACH as the project reports have been prepared and submitted for early execution of the work. Shifting of Toshakhana to an appropriate place and illumination of Rani Charak Mahal from River Tawi site was also discussed.
Regarding security arrangements, the IGP Jammu was asked to work out the setting up of picket of security forces and deploying specialized contingents of Home guards at the complex. The Chief Engineer PDD was asked to shift HT/ LT lines by December, 2008. The Fire department has already moved a proposal for setting up of Fire Post. Wild Life department will take care of money menace.
Earlier the Governor conducted an overall inspection of the entire complex during his visit to the historical monument. Soon after acquainting himself with the development work executed throughout the complex including Dogra Art Museum, basement, library, Toshakhana and other areas of historical significance, Mr. Vohra convened a high level meeting of executive body of Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society (MMJHS).
Principal Secretary to Governor, Mr. B. B. Vyas, Vice President MMJHS, Mr. G. S. Charak, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Mr. Sudhanshu Pandey, IGP Mr. K. Rajendra Kumar, Director Tourism Mrs. Sarita Chouhan, Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Dr. Mandeep K. Bhandari, Chief Engineer PDD, Joint Director Information Jammu, Mr. Shyam Bijyal, officers from INTACH, Archeological Survey of India and MMJHS besides other concerned departments were present on the occasion.
On the conservation of Bhimgarh Fort, Reasi, Mr. Vohra said that Rs. 25 lakh has been earmarked for necessary renovation and conservation of the said Fort.
Earlier, Mr. G. S. Charak apprised the Governor of the development projects executed or under execution for restoring the pristine glory of Mubarak Mandi. He briefed about the history of conservation work started in 1991 from Dogra Art Gallery and stressed on the expeditious execution of work so as to preserve the historical treasure of Dogra period. |
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