NEW DELHI: All prominent heritage buildings protected by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) in the national capital such as Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Purana Quila and Qutub Minar along with affiliated museums will be reopened for visitors from July 6.
But there will be a cap on number of visitors at some historical sites.
Sound and light show at Purana Quila, however, will remain suspended till further notice. According to the standard operating procedure (SoP) for reopening of ASI’s protected buildings, entry tickets will not be sold at the counter and they can only be booked online.
The announcement about reopening of ASI’s heritage sites across the country was made the Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Prahlad Singh Patel on Thursday evening on Twitter.
“Only 3,000 visitors will be allowed in two batches—1,500 in each slot—in Red Fort and Qutub Minar every day. However, the cap for Humayan’s tomb and Purana Quila is 2,000 visitors per day, which means 1,000 in each slot. Mask will be mandatory and there will be a separate entry, exit to ensure social distancing. No group photography will be permitted,” said an official of survey.
“For remaining ticketed monuments capping provision will be restricted to 2,000 (1,000 in each slot),” said the official.
The ASI manages and protects 3,691 ancient structures and monuments including 143 are ticketed sites in the country. All of them were shut on March 17 to thwart possible health risks posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, about 820 buildings, which double up as worship places, were opened on June 8.
In Delhi, there are about 170 historical structures with ASI and only 13 such as Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar, Safdar Jung’s Tomb, Purana Quila, and Hauz Khas has paid entry.