<p class="title">US Ambassador to India Kenneth Ian Juster on Thursday announced a US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) grant for the conservation of the seventeenth-century tombs of Taramati and Premamati at the Qutb Shahi tombs complex.</p>.<p class="title">According to a statement, a grant of over Rs 70 lakh, has been awarded to the Aga Khan Foundation. </p>.<p class="title">Conservation work is already underway and scheduled for completion later this year. This is the second AFCP grant awarded to the Qutb Shahi tombs.</p>.<p class="title">The previous grant, awarded in 2014, supported the documentation of archaeological finds at the Qutb Shahi tombs complex.</p>.<p class="title">"I am pleased to announce that the United States will contribute once again to the extensive preservation work underway at the Qutb Shahi tombs," said Ambassador Juster.</p>.<p class="title">"This new initiative is just one in a long line of projects that we have proudly supported across India," he said.</p>.<p class="title">The restoration's primary aims will be to conserve the final resting places of the famed dancers Taramati and Premamati and restore the tombs to their original grandeur.</p>.<p class="title">Work through the grant will also restore missing portions of the tombs and repair structural deficiencies.</p>.<p class="title">The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation is a US Department of State initiative. Since 2001, the program has supported over 1,000 projects around the world. This is the third AFCP grant awarded in Hyderabad.</p>.<p class="title">In 2009, the program supported restoration at the garden tomb of Mah Laqa Bai at Moula Ali.</p>.<p class="title">"The conservation works have commenced with structural repairs to the foundations and the stone plinths, and will require careful removal of twentieth-century cement, with subsequent use of lime plaster applied by master-craftsmen to restore the authenticity of the structures," said Ratish Nanda, Chief Executive Officer, and Aga Khan Trust for Culture.</p>.<p class="title">Also present at the announcement were US Consul General in Hyderabad Katherine Hadda and B Venkatesham, Secretary Tourism and Culture, Government of Telangana.</p>
<p class="title">US Ambassador to India Kenneth Ian Juster on Thursday announced a US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) grant for the conservation of the seventeenth-century tombs of Taramati and Premamati at the Qutb Shahi tombs complex.</p>.<p class="title">According to a statement, a grant of over Rs 70 lakh, has been awarded to the Aga Khan Foundation. </p>.<p class="title">Conservation work is already underway and scheduled for completion later this year. This is the second AFCP grant awarded to the Qutb Shahi tombs.</p>.<p class="title">The previous grant, awarded in 2014, supported the documentation of archaeological finds at the Qutb Shahi tombs complex.</p>.<p class="title">"I am pleased to announce that the United States will contribute once again to the extensive preservation work underway at the Qutb Shahi tombs," said Ambassador Juster.</p>.<p class="title">"This new initiative is just one in a long line of projects that we have proudly supported across India," he said.</p>.<p class="title">The restoration's primary aims will be to conserve the final resting places of the famed dancers Taramati and Premamati and restore the tombs to their original grandeur.</p>.<p class="title">Work through the grant will also restore missing portions of the tombs and repair structural deficiencies.</p>.<p class="title">The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation is a US Department of State initiative. Since 2001, the program has supported over 1,000 projects around the world. This is the third AFCP grant awarded in Hyderabad.</p>.<p class="title">In 2009, the program supported restoration at the garden tomb of Mah Laqa Bai at Moula Ali.</p>.<p class="title">"The conservation works have commenced with structural repairs to the foundations and the stone plinths, and will require careful removal of twentieth-century cement, with subsequent use of lime plaster applied by master-craftsmen to restore the authenticity of the structures," said Ratish Nanda, Chief Executive Officer, and Aga Khan Trust for Culture.</p>.<p class="title">Also present at the announcement were US Consul General in Hyderabad Katherine Hadda and B Venkatesham, Secretary Tourism and Culture, Government of Telangana.</p>