State Archaeology Department is all set to revive the lost glory of the 14 heritage gates in the state capital. These magnificent gates were part of the walled city and the symbol of might of the Nawabs who ruled the Bhopal state then. In ruins today, the fourteen unique structures including Sadar Darwaza, Kala Darwaza, Bab-E-Sikandari, Shaukat Mahal gate, Teen Mohere gate-1, Teen Mohre gate-2, Dakhil Darwaza, Bhopal gate, Lal Darwaza, Bagh Farhat Afza gate, Bab-e-Ali gate, Sultania infantry gate, Jumerati gate and police gate, will get a facelift.
Conservation and restoration work of these gates would soon start State archeology commissioner Anupam Rajan when contacted said that the gates are the symbols of our history and there is a need to protect them for which we have made a proposal. The gates will soon be taken into the protection of the archeology department for conservation work, he added.
Recently, ‘Farhat Azfa’, a gate in the old city which was on the verge of collapse was razed down. Conversationalists and social activists had voiced concern and protested the administrative decision of pulling down the icon of the past glory. Now, the administration has decided to restore the lost grandeur of these gates as in absence of the conservation, these structures would soon become a history in the walled city.
These gates are still not a property of the state archeology department, and many of them have fallen into the hands of encroachers. Decedents of close associates of the erstwhile rulers have also claimed ownership right over these structures. The Archeology department will soon coordinate with the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the conservation work.
