Visitors, tourists need better facilities

Govt agencies must pitch in to set up good eateries, restaurants near historical sites

Lakhs of people visit Delhi’s world famous historical monuments every year. But there seems to a surprising lack of effort to enrichen their experience by setting up open air restaurants and other eatries.

While such facilities do run in the vicinity of monuments, they are privately owned and many find them expensive. Experts working in the field say government agencies must pitch in to provide better facilities.

“Speaking about Delhi, the onus of developing such facilities lies on the Archaeological Survey of India and the Delhi tourism department. The department runs coffee homes in the city.

The ASI and the tourism department could come together to develop such facilities,” says a senior executive of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

Experts blame the ad hoc policies of government agencies as the primary reason for the current state of affairs at heritage buildings.

This is not going to change anytime soon. “There is no specific proposal on promoting new tourism techniques in protected monuments, such as restaurants and eateries,” says D N Dimri, ASI superintending archaeologist, Delhi circle.

Officials say a monitoring committee appointed by the Supreme Court had stated that no commercial activities can be taken up on the premises of protected monuments.

Till a few years ago, Qutub Minar had a restaurant on its premises, but it was sealed in 2008 on the direction of the monitoring committee.

“The ASI originally handed over the premises to ITDC. The ITDC further handed over the same to the DTTDC.

It was the DTTDC that leased out the premises in favour of a private party for 10 years, which expired in 2011. The ASI demolished some new constructions on the premises carried out by the private company running the restaurant in 2002,” says Dimri.

The monitoring committee has de-sealed the premises but with the condition that the tourism department will not lease out the premises to any private party.

Delhi Tourism officials say they are in the process of reviving the restaurant. “We do not have a mandate over such heritage monuments.

We are in talks with the ASI to develop such facilities at historical monuments, including the Qutab Restaurant which was closed down due to legal issues,” says Delhi Tourism spokesperson Sudhir Sobti.