In a bid to upgrade the lighting at Tughlaqabad fort, LED lighting solutions will be installed. This will be another important architectural beauty to be added to the list of illuminated monuments in the city. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and NBCC India started lighting makeover of this historical palace in the last week of September. The illumination of the fort is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
According to an official at NBCC, 1.5 km stretch in the front portion of the fort and parts of the interior will be lit by new lighting under the illumination plan. Also, other places in the fort will be illuminated as per requirement. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 3 crores and about 300 LED lights will be put up.
Currently, the fort is open for public between 7 am to 5 pm, however; whether the visiting hours will increase post illumination is also not confirmed. The fort was built by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq who was the founder of Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate of
India in 1321.
Furthermore, the fort is divided into three parts: There are houses built along a rectangular grid between its gate, the citadel with a tower at its highest point known as Bijai-Mandal and the remains of several halls and a long underground passage as well as the adjacent palace area containing the royal residences.
In the last one year, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has illuminated five monuments in the city – Red Fort, Purana Qila, Humayun’s tomb, Safdurjung Tomb and the Qutub complex. Apart from Purana Qila, all these monuments have been set open to public till late hours, with the objective of encouraging night tourism in the city.
Although lack of awareness is definitely one of the reasons that night tourism has not taken off in the city yet, but the bigger factor impacting the footfall seems to be the issue to safety, or the lack of it.
