Turning Red Fort into a farmhouse

NEW DELHI: Weep, Shah Jehan.
After the Taj, it''s the Red Fort.
Conservationists and archaeologists are in an eye-ball to eye-ball confrontation with the Union tourism and culture ministry over the so-called renovation of Delhi''s most historic monument.
The heritage-wallahs allege that the ongoing work sanctioned by the ministry is drastically altering the fundamental structure of the ASI-protected Lal Qila.
Addressing the Minister, Mr Jagmohan, in a pained missive, Rajeev Sethi, design expert and founder trustee, Asian Heritage Foundation, says, "This letter is penned to express the urgency of preparing or updating a more visible master plan before any more work is done on the so-called repairs or restorations. Indeed, such considerations could also mean a careful reversal of the ''jobs'' completed."
The particularly disturbing renovations are indicated in the box alongside.
Shahid Amin, professor of history at DU, seethes, "Ill-thought-out restoration has literally gouged out the Red Fort in the interest of creating a pedestrian and un-historical uniformity.Had the original inlays been retained, they would have provided a point of reference for the relationship between 17th century and 20th century Indian craftsmanship. We will wilfully destroy this dharohar unless the original inlays are put back."
According to Sethi, "On a short visit with several scholars to the Red Fort, I noticed alarming mistakes in the renovation work. This work can''t be done by run-of-the mill contractors without credentials and zealous officials eager to cut corners. There is a need for preparing or upgrading a more visible master plan before any further work is done."
However, AK Sinha, ASI superintendent and the overseeing official, claims, "No violation has occurred during the renovation of the Red Fort. As far as possible, we have tried to retain the original structure, while following the documentation, design and records available to us."
Jagmohan is currently in Shimla and could not be contacted. Tourism and culture secretary Dhanendra Kumar, now in Manali, said "Let me come back to Delhi, and I will speak on the subject."