Master plan for Mubarak Mandi Heritage complex to be made: J-K govt

The Jammu and Kashmir government has said a master plan for the Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex, the seat of Dogra rulers in Jammu, would be prepared.

In order to speed up the pace of work on the heritage complex, the Minister of State for Education, Tourism and Culture, Priya Sethi chaired a meeting with the executive body of Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society (MMJHS) and reviewed the status of ongoing work on the project on Monday evening.

"Consultants will be preparing a master plan for the entire Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex. After that conservation strategies for each and individual buildings will be worked out," she said and asked the officials concerned for swift completion of the work on Royal court and Darbar Hall.

According to the minister, the consultants have been asked to first go for structural investigations which will be followed by geo-technical services for structural assessment of buildings and ground penetrating radar service to understand archaeological remains underground.

"Once completed, radar mapping to document all existing buildings will be done and any deflection will be recorded before initiating work," she said.

Sethi, who is also the chairperson of the executive committee for restoring the heritage complex, said the Mubarak Mandi restoration work has picked up momentum and work on central courtyard has already been taken up.

The minister asked the consultants to create a vision document for entire complex and accordingly set priorities for conservation and adaptive reuse of buildings.