Summary:
New Delhi, Aug 9 (PTI) The newly renovated British-era "Phansi Ghar" on the Delhi Assembly premises will give history lovers a chance to learn more about the sacrifices of freedom fighters who were executed in the two-storey structure.
The "Phansi Ghar" was inaugurated by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday along with a "Corona Warriors Memorial".
The execution room is located in the main building on the left side of the Assembly hall.
Visitors can also see the belongings of some of the prisoners who were executed there and the rope used to hang them.
The facade of the execution room has been given the look of a jail with small bricks and an iron gate.
The execution room also houses sculptures of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru.
It has two lift-operated nooses that were used to hang prisoners.
On the upper floor is a small gallery where pictures of freedom fighters Ashfaqullah Khan, Hemu Kalani, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Dinesh Gupta, Khudiram Bose, Gulab Singh Saini and Umaji Naik, among others, are displayed.
Speaking at the inauguration, Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said during the British rule, freedom fighters imprisoned in the Red Fort were brought to the "Phansi Ghar" for trial and execution.
He said the "Phansi Ghar", which was initially locked, was found in 2018.
"It was a two-storey room but the upper floor was not accessible and was closed by a wall.
When we broke the wall, we found that it was an execution room having two nooses," Goel said.
It was decided to restore this execution room, he said.
"We did not temper with anything in the "Phansi Ghar" during the restoration process.
Here, we all can see how our freedom fighters sacrificed their lives for the nation," he added.
The Public Works Department (PWD) started the renovation work in September last year.
Goel said the target of opening the "Phansi Ghar" and the "Corona Warrior Memorial" before Independence Day has been successfully met.
People will be allowed to visit these places when the Delhi Assembly is not in session, he said.
The "Corona War Memorial" has been built to honour Covid warriors including doctors, nurses, paramedic staff, sanitation workers and teachers for their sacrifices and remarkable work towards society during the pandemic.
The memorial has the names of 31 Covid warriors, who made the supreme sacrifice during the pandemic, inscribed on a stone slab.
Above it is a sculpture depicting a doctor, a nurse, a security officer and a sanitation employee.
It is located behind the Vitthal Bhai Patel statue on the Assembly premises near the entry gates.
PTI AKM DIV DIV
.