New Dellhi: The historic Red Fort came alive as it saw thefirst ever architectural illumination of its front fortification wall and the two important gateways Lahori Gate and Delhi Gate this evening. The illumination ceremony was held in the presence of Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), Dr. Mahesh Sharma.
The world famous 17th century Mughal era monument has been lit up with architectural lighting also known as ‘element illumination’ to enhance itsarchitectural beauty after sunset.
Speaking to the media, Dr. Mahesh Sharma said that our heritage is our identity and we should make all efforts to conserve and preserve it. The Ministry of Culture proposes to take up the illumination of all its 100 Adarsh Smaraks to highlight the archaeological magnificence of our historical monuments, the Culture Minister elaborated.This will not only make the local residents proud of their heritage but will also help to promote night tourism in a big way, he said.
Among those present on the occasion were Shri Arun Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Culture; Smt. Usha Sharma, Director General (DG),Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Shri Raman Aggarwal, ED (NBCC); and other senior officials from the Ministry of Culture among others.
The new lighting has been done on 1.3 km length of parapets using around 2,500 lamps to illuminate the historic monument. The new architectural lighting will cast programmed light on components such as domes, ramparts, minarets, arches and balconies from different directions to highlight their architectural details. The new illumination comprises of simple yellow and static lighting. Installed at the cost of Rs.3 crore, it took about two months to complete the task. The duration of illumination will be 7:30PMto 11:00 PM daily. The illumination has been done using LED lights.
Lal Qila is one of those historical monuments which attracts millions of tourists every year and is the pride jewel in Delhi’s history. The project has been completed by Archaeological Survey of India of Ministry of Culture in partnership with NBCC.
