Of 29 buildings, only one renovated in a decade

Arteev Sharma

A decade has passed since the state government started the renovation work of the historic Mubarak Mandi complex, the royal residence of the erstwhile Dogra rulers in Jammu and Kashmir, but the initiative failed to bring change in the dilapidated heritage structures on ground — courtesy political interference and bureaucratic stupor.

Barring a structure that used to house the erstwhile Army headquarters and foreign office, no other major building has been renovated in the past 10 years.

Consequently, the dilapidated buildings of the large structure are falling apart, diminishing the hopes that the heritage complex would be restored to its pristine glory

The renovation of the complex was started in 2008. There were 29 projects under the renovation plan and the estimated cost of these projects was about Rs 298.86 crore. The historic Mubarak Mandi complex spreads over 14 acres of prime land and is steeped in history of 187 years.

The deteriorating condition of old buildings and the slow pace of renovation work have worried stakeholders, who have called for immediate corrective measures to give a new lease of life to the crumbling heritage.

On December 5, scion of the erstwhile Dogra rulers Karan Singh shot off a letter to Governor Satya Pal Malik, expressing his dismay over the deteriorating condition of the heritage complex. He urged the Governor to call all files connected with Mubarak Mandi and see what could be done to preserve this rich Dogra heritage, which, he said, was crumbling “before our eyes”.

“Last week, yet another portion of the Mubarak Mandi complex collapsed. Only one building (erstwhile Army headquarters and foreign office) has been restored, which was supposed to have become ‘Jammu Museum, but still remains vacant and its condition has also started deteriorating,” wrote Singh.

“An organisation called Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society (MMJHS) was formed and the Archaeological Survey of India was also involved, but despite these measures the situation continued to deteriorate and more buildings are on the verge of collapse,” he wrote.

Noted Dogri writer Lalit Magotra, who was a member of the MMJHS executive body, said, “I am totally disgusted over the pace and style of the renovation work. It is being executed in lopsided and totally unprofessional manner.”

“People from art, culture and archaeology background should have been associated with this project but little attention was paid to it. Consequently, the project has fallen in the hands of bureaucrats, who don’t have expertise on the subject. Now, the dilapidated buildings are falling apart and there is no check on what kind of work is being executed,” he said.

Former member of the MMJHS executive body Narinder Singh said, “Only one meeting of the MMJHS governing body has taken place in the last four years instead of mandatory one every six months. The renovation work was badly affected due to political interference in the last four years. The BJP workers were incorporated as members of the executive body by former Minister of State for Tourism Priya Sethi, who violated the MMJHS bylaws with impunity.”

Ram Sharma, a noted activist, said, “A meagre 7 per cent of the estimated cost of the project had been released so far. Shockingly, the utilised amount is lesser than 5 per cent of the estimated cost."

Courtesy:The Tribune,Dec08,2018