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`Club' Near Siri Fort Wall To House Kids' Heritage MuseumBy Sumit Kumar, Section Local Artists and Performances
Here's a heartwarming story of a government organisation, in a unique gesture, giving children a gift that they will cherish for long. The Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) is setting up a heritage museum for children, the first of its kind, at a building constructed by Delhi Development Authority (DDA), right next to the 15th century Siri Fort wall in south Delhi.
ASI superintending archaeologist and Delhi circle head Dr DV Sharma told TOI: ``The building was made by DDA against ASI norms and later handed over to us some years ago after a Delhi High Court order. The structure is architecturally very impressive. Rather than tear down the building, we wanted to put it to best use and decided to dedicate the entire building to children as a heritage museum.'' The museum will cater to children from six to 18 years of age and help them ``bring alive their history lessons''.  It will house artefacts and antiquities recovered from historical sites all over the country and have on display rare findings by the ASI during their many excavation projects. The building has been deserted since the ASI took possession of it in 2003. Now, repair work is on to convert it into a museum in a few months. In the interim, the first official use ASI will make of the building, is next month when a conference on `Use of lime mortar in ancient times' will be organised by it. It will be attended by a number of eminent archaeologists and scholars. Click on "Full Story" for more...
This will be the first museum relating to heritage for children in the city. There is a museum of natural history which desperately needs some attention, going by the state of its upkeep, and a national science centre in the city. Now history will be taken out of textbooks. ``We have plans to set up display boards which depict life, ranging from the seven cities of Delhi to life during the colonial rule and post-Independence India. Artefacts from each era will be displayed with information boards explaining their historical relevance.'' The idea, said Sharma, was to spread awareness about art, culture and civilisation among the younger generation.
DDA had constructed the building for its officers' club in 2002. According to the ASI, the club had come up in violation of the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. In 2002, former prime minister VP Singh had filed a writ petition in Delhi High Court alleging that the DDA club was located near the historic Siri Fort Wall and its construction was in violation of the provisions of the 1958 Act which states that no construction activity can take place within 100 metres of a protected monument, which in this case was the Siri Fort Wall. The court held that the land on which the club had been constructed had been earmarked for recreational purposes and directed ASI to inspect the site to find out whether there existed the Siri Fort Wall which needed protection or whether the 1992 notification was applicable to the same. Then in July 2003, the Director-General of ASI held that the construction of the officers' club indeed constituted a violation of the Act since Siri Fort was notified as a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904. Sources said DDA was really keen on saving its land as it has 554 primary members in the officers' club and a total of around 1,600 members, including spouses and children of officers. Source: Richi Verma From Times Of India, Feb-22-2008
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