NEW DELHI: The historic Red Fort complex, which was closed for visitors about a week ago due to security reasons given a farmers’ march, has been reopened, official sources said on Sunday.
The iconic Mughal-era monument was “suddenly sealed” late Monday night “due to security reasons”. “It was reopened a couple of days ago,” a source at the Archeological Survey of India said. However, the Red Fort is regularly closed for visitors on Mondays, so they will not get entry inside the complex on February 19.
The site was temporarily closed amid a massive deployment of police and paramilitary forces in central Delhi in view of the farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ march. Sources said that “no order has been officially issued for reopening” of the site, adding, it was closed by police instructions and accordingly reopened. Thousands of farmers are staying put at the Shambhu and Khanauri points of the Punjab-Haryana border with layers of barricades and security personnel halting their march to the city.
Besides loan waiver and a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), farmers of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation, which entered its sixth day on Sunday, are also demanding implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, for pension for farmers and farm labourers, and withdrawal of police cases.
There was no report of any confrontation between the protesters and Haryana security personnel on Saturday. The farmer leaders have asked the protesters to maintain calm at the borders.
36th Garden Tourism Festival inaugurated
Delhi Tourism Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday inaugurated the 36th edition of the Garden Tourism Festival at the Garden of Five Senses. “The festival has attracted a diverse crowd, including people from ordinary and affluent families, housewives, and individuals from all walks of life, who are inspired by the exquisite gardening on display to replicate it at their own homes,” Bharadwaj said. The festival offers attendees a tranquil escape into nature’s embrace.