NEW DELHI: Two brass finials on top of the minar were found missing after chaos ensued in Red Fort complex on Republic Day but were found later in broken state, said Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel on Thursday.
The ticket counter was destroyed, Lahori Gate vandalised and lights broken due to the protests, Patel said. “The financial damage of lights and ticket counter can be assessed. But one cannot put a price on the archaeological remains of it,” said Patel, adding the heritage value of the Red Fort complex needs to be preserved.
In the first floor, an interpretation centre which was under construction had suffered damages too, the Minister said. The biggest loss was at the ‘most high security area’, where finials on a minar were found missing but later found in a broken state, he said.
The ASI will lodge an FIR on the damages caused. “The tableaux are kept there after Republic Day and people come to view them for a period of seven to 15 days. The tableau by the Ministry of Culture, the Ram Mandir tableau...most of the other tableaux have been tampered with too. This is unfortunate,” said Patel.
One more farmers union calls off protest
BKU (Lok Shakti) chief Sheoraj Singh on Thursday said that the protest has been called off. BKU spokesperson Shailesh Kumar Giri said, “The protest has been called off,” He farmers’ union had been camping at the Dalit Prerna Sthal since December 2, demanding withdrawal of the three new farm laws, legalisation of minimum support price (MSP) for crops and implementation of the recommendation of Swaminathan Committee’s report. Singh also met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.ALSO WATCH: