Crumbling heritage reels under govt apathy

PATIALA: Heritage buildings in Patiala are crumbling fast and time is running out to save them. Apathy of the government has left these structures to languish in neglect and to face threat of being lost into oblivion.
Two years back, Punjab tourism and cultural affairs minister proposed a special master plan to preserve all the heritage sites here. This raised revival hopes of the dying monuments.But the proposal remains a paper tiger and the cultural landmarks continue to gasp for breath.
Patiala has many significant heritage sites, including Quila Mubarak, Darbar Hall, Sheesh Mahal, art galleries, Guru Gobind Singh Bhawan, Shahi Smada, Old Moti Bagh Palace, Sunami Gate and Dashani Gate. Even though authorities who are supposed to take care of these historical buildings have chalked out plans to repair these structures, the tourism department has failed to get any grant from the Punjab government. Lack of much-needed renovation has caused the buildings to deteriorate and die a slow death.
“To renovate these buildings, we need a grant of at least Rs 100crore. The estimate was sent many years back. But we have received only Rs 1.75 crore during the last five years. With such a meager amount, we can’t even properly whitewash these buildings,” said a senior officer of the Punjab tourism department.
In February 2004, when Capt Amrinder Singh was the CM, he had decided to rope in Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) to raise funds for restoring Quila Mubarak and other heritage buildings of Patiala. It was also decided to establish a heritage village in the district on the lines of villages set up by Intach at Pragpur in Himachal Pradesh and Raghuraj in Orissa. But with the change of government in Punjab in 2007, the plan got shelved.
“The Punjab SAD-BJP ruling alliance is not releasing any grant to give a facelift to these buildings. The government must realize that the rich heritage should be passed down to the future generations in a healthy state,” said Sudarshan Sharma, a local shopkeeper.