Red Fort remains shut to visitors till Jan 31

The red fort will remain closed for visitors till January 31, the Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) said in an order on January 27.

While the order does not mention the reason behind the closure, it refers to earlier orders of January 6 and January 18 whereby the iconic monument was closed from January 19 to January 22 due to a bird flu alert.

The monument was also shut from January 22 to January 26 due to the Republic Day celebrations. However, it was supposed to be open for visitors on January 27, but it did not.

It is believed that this time the closure time will be utilised to ascertain any damage that might have been caused to the iconic monument when it was overrun by protesters on January 26.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Prahlad Singh Patel toured the Red Fort on Wednesday to take stock of the situation. He has sought a report on the incident from the ASI.

Pictures and videos showing sections of the Red Fort complex, including the metal detector gate and ticket counter, vandalized surfaced on social media in the aftermath of the Republic Day violence.

There is a total of 173 monuments in Delhi protected under the Archaeological Survey of India(ASI). These included Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb and Qutab Minar – all three UNESCO World Heritage Sites.