Government committed to protecting heritage sites: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

NEW DELHI: New Delhi: government is committed to protecting the country’s heritage, said Union culture and tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Thursday, and also cautioned that it’s important to identify, expose and probe the “powers and mindset” trying to hinder India’s progress.

His remarks came in response to a question at a press conference on the measures being taken by the BJP-led NDA government to bolster the cultural and tourism potential of India.

On the challenges posed by the clamour for surveys of historical sites like the Mughal era mosque in Sambhal, the Ajmer Sharif dargah and world renowned Taj Mahal among others, Shekhawat said, “Definitely, (filing) a PIL in democratic India is a right of a person. How can I stop anyone? However, there are powers and a mindset working behind this... (they) need to be looked into, investigated...”

“Some people are scared of the progress and the speed of growth of the country. By exposing those people, the government is working and making efforts with seriousness to preserve the heritage of the country,” he added.

Meanwhile, in response to a question raised on December 2 in Lok Sabha pertaining to safety and security of monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, Shekhawat said that regular watch and ward and security has been provided. As per the data on deployment, there are 3,507 multi-tasking staff, 2,763 private security and 592 CISF personnel.

On incidents of vandalism reported at protected monuments during the past five years, government’s written reply shows that of the six incidents between 2019 to 2023, two happened in UP where a figurine in Kalinjar Fort was vandalised in 2023 and a statue was vandalised in Lalitpur district in 2022. The same year, vandalism was reported from Char Minar in Hyderabad. In Uttarakhand’s Almora district, a Shivling was vandalised in Mrityunjaya temple in 2021.

In Delhi, damage to the ticketing system, entrance gate and RR Barrack was reported in Red Fort in 2021 and damage to the “jaali” in Zaffar Mahal in Mehrauli came to light in 2023.

In Karnataka, a pillar was vandalised in a Vishnu temple at Kamalapura in 2019 and a copper ‘kalasa’ was removed from Sadasiva temple in Hassan district in 2020. Two incidents of vandalism were reported from Sisupalgarh Fort in Odisha in 2021 and 2023.

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