10 monuments managed by the ASI will be open till late night : Announces Minister

New Delhi : Union minister for tourism and culture Prahlad Singh Patel has announced that 10 monuments managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and other committees will be kept open till late to attract more tourists. He made this announcement while addressing reporters in the Parliament complex on Monday.

The 16th-century monument housing the grave of Mughal emperor Humayun is among 10 monuments.

The list of attractions by ASI to be opened till late night are : 

Besides Humayun’s tomb another Delhi monument, Safdarjung’s Tomb, also features in the list prepared by a committee comprising officials of the culture and tourism ministries.

Bijapur’s Gol Gumbaz, Sheikh Chilli’s Tomb in Kurukshetra, Bhubaneswar’s Rajarani Temple Complex, Khajuraho’s Duladeo Temple, Varanasi’s Man Mahal, Rani-ki-Vav stepwell in Gujarat’s Patan, a cluster of monuments in Karnataka’s Bagalkot, a UNESCO Heritage site, and a clutch of temples in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district make up the list.

Culture ministry officials said the new plan will be implemented within the next few days and will be in place for an initial term of three years.

As of now, the monuments that come under ASI , the body entrusted with managing tourist operations at heritage sites, are mostly open till sundown.

“These 10 monuments are in the first phase (of the plan), and we are considering (keeping) more such monuments (open till later) in the near future,” Patel said. He added that the few temples in the list, which are not manned by the ASI, were included due to their popularity. The temples are run by different temple management committees.

ASI’s most popular monument, the Taj Mahal, did not find a mention on the list.

Officials said that proposals from states to keep 35 monuments and heritage sites open till 10pm for the public came to both the culture ministry and tourism ministry during the last tenure of this government. Subsequently, a committee of officials of both ministries was formed to find out the viability of the proposals. The committee decided that selecting 10 monuments would help them gauge the feasibility of the plan.