SDMC’S virtual tour of Capital’s heritage

Some of the sites that find place in the e-book date back to 1132 AD.

NEW DELHI: The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has come up with a virtual tour of Delhi’s heritage in the form of an e-book that is available on its website, officials said.

The e-book titled ‘Glorious Heritage of Delhi’ has photographs along with a small description and history of the heritage buildings. It was launched by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal via video conferencing on Thursday.

South corporation mayor Mukesh Suryan said the step was taken to ensure better conservation of heritage sites, many of which were lying abandoned for years. The civic body’s Heritage Conservation Cell has identified 475 heritage sites under the corporation’s jurisdiction. “The first volume of the e-book is a compilation of 108 such sites, including monuments, heritage buildings and memorials. The rest of the identified sites will be compiled under two more volumes,” said Suryan.

According to a senior SDMC official, the sites identified for compilation are those that have

on an e-book on the city’s heritage

been notified as heritage structures by the central government’s heritage conservation committee in 2010 and 2016, respectively. “Some of the sites that find place in the e-book date back to 1132 AD. For instance Anangtal, an ancient water body that is now dried up, behind the Yogmaya temple, finds a mention in Budh Sridhar’s book in 1132 AD,” said the official, who asked not to be named.

Most of these sites are maintained by trusts and conservation agencies. Baijal said the civic body must tie up with private agencies and work towards conservation of abandoned structures on public-private partnership mode.

SDMC commissioner Gyanesh Bharti said, “Through the e-book, people can access information about the sites just by visiting the website.”