CHANDIGARH – The Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today reviewed the progress of the restoration work of Bassian Kothi near Ludhiana to develop it as the first memorial in the fond remembrance of Late Maharaja Dalip Singh, where he was kept in captivity arrested by the British in 1849 prior to his exile in Uttar Pradesh.
Disclosing this here a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s office said that while presiding over a meeting in this regard, Mr. Badal asked Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) the executing agency to develop this memorial keeping in view the historic values and architectural designs of this momentous building. He further asked the representatives of INTACH to introduce a section dedicated to the Kuka Martyrs in the museum.
On the occasion, the Chief Architect of INTACH Mr. Divya Gupta, informed the Chief Minister that their one team had already started restoration work over the Heritage Zone comprising Main Building of the Monument, which would be completed within next three months. Explaining the complete restoration work of Entrance & Parking-Zone and Visitor Facilities-Zone which included Interpretation Centre, Audio Visual room, out house and Cafeteria, Mr. Gupta assured the Chief Minister that INTACH would try to revive the original architectural spirit at Bassian Kothi. He further said that to accelerate the pace of the work at the site, INTACH would soon depute two additional teams.
It was also informed in the meeting that the total cost of the project was above Rs. five crore, the state Government had already provided Rs. 80 lac to INTACH as initial money to initiate the work and next installment of Rs. one crore was being provided shortly. A statue of Maharaja Dalip Singh would also be installed at Bassian Kothi.
Prominent amongst others who were present in the meeting included Chief Secretary Mr. SC Agrawal, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. KJS Cheema, Director Tourism & Cultural Affairs Dr. Karamjit Singh Sra and Governing Council Member of INTACH Dr. Sukhdev Singh.
