Summary:
Many prominent heritage buildings across the country and protected sites in the national capital will soon be featuring sound and light shows. Regarding this, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is planning to take this proposal up and organise weekly ‘musical events’ in a move to attract more tourists.
At present, around 12 sites, including the Purana Quila in Delhi, hosts these sound and light shows, which have been suspended since March as the country went into lockdown to contain the spread of Coronavirus. As per the ASI officials, the ministry has already given in-principle approval for musical shows at 12 other locations, including the Shore Temple in Chennai, Raigad Fort in Mumbai, and Leh Palace in Leh.
Reportedly, such programmes can be conducted at ticketed monuments. As per the records, as of now, the ASI manages 3691 monuments, of which only 143 are ticketed sites. Also, there are around 170 sites in Delhi with ASI, of which only 13 are ticketed sites, such as Safdar Jung’s Tomb, Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Hauz Khas, and Purana Qila.