Know It All About The Summer Residence Of The Last Mughal Emperor That Now Needs An Immediate Repair .

The palace’s eyeline is dominated by peeling plaster, unsightly graffiti etched on moss, empty alcohol bottles, trash, and paan stains.

The summer residence of Mughal poet and ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar II, known as Zafar Mahal, has seen better days. The palace’s majesty was once enhanced by the marble and red sandstone construction, and this was where the yearly Phoolwalon ki Sair celebrations would start.

But more than 200 years later, Mehrauli’s summer palace, renowned as the city’s final Mughal relic, is in terrible shape, with plaster flaking off the walls, unsightly graffiti etched on moss, empty alcohol bottles, trash, and paan stains dominating the structure.

The marble jaali enclosing the tombs was smashed by vandals in December of last year. And even now, a few meters of concertina wire surround Zafar Mahal, ostensibly shielding it from vandals.Not much has been done to restore it, despite being under the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) protection.

Senior ASI officials informed HT in April of last year that conservation work at Zafar Mahal would soon start because the monument’s state is subpar.This month, a year later, during a spot visit, all that had been installed around the memorial was concertina wire. “We intend to start work this fiscal year.

It is hard to predict with certainty when work at Zafar Mahal will start because conservation priorities shift. Every year, funds are approved for each ASI circle. As it has been this year, Zafar Mahal’s plight was brought to light last year. According to Praveen Singh, supervising archaeologist at ASI, “it is still on the agenda.”