Patel opens entry to Nila Gumbad at Humayun Tomb Complex for general public

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : As  part of Fit India Movement, Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (Independent charge) Prahlad Singh Patel led a morning walk at Humayun Tomb Complex on August 31, 2019, in New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion, Patel said that awareness regarding fitness lies in Indian culture and heritage and we must do some Yoga, exercise, walk or other related things for better health. He also said that ‘health is Wealth’ and we can achieve our physical and spiritual goals only through a healthy body. The Minister urged all the citizens to participate in ‘Fit India Movement’ to make it a public movement.

Patel also opened the entry to Nila Gumbad at Humayun Tomb Complex for general public during his visit. The Nila Gumbad is one of the earliest Mughal era structure and was built in the 1530’s. This was built on an island in the Yamuna, and later, just abutting to it, when Humayun’s Tomb was built in the year 1569-70, Nila Gumbad and other adjoining structures were incorporated into the complex, according to a PIB release.

The entry to the Nila Gumbad, which derives its name from the turquoise blue tiles that cover its dome, was made accessible to the public from inside the Humayun’s Tomb complex from August 31.

The glory of Nila Gumbad started declining in 19^th century when the northern portion of the Nila Gumbad garden was taken over by the railways and Nizamuddin Railway station was built, abutting the monument. In 1980s, a road was built bifurcating Nila Gumbad from Humayun’s Tomb and later, the structure was occupied by a squatter settlement of over 200 jhuggis.

To bring back the structure to its lost sheen, the inhabitants of the squatter settlement were relocated in 2004-05 and later in 2014, as per the agreements with the Railways, the road bifurcating the monument from the Humayun’s Tomb was shifted, so as to allow the access to Nila Gumbad from Humayun’s Tomb.

In a massive exercise in over the last 5years, the landscape setting was restored and an alternate road was built. A part of land recovered from the Railways was redeveloped in a manner so as to recreate the part of the original garden surrounding the mausoleum. The conservation work at the mausoleum was done by Aga Khan Trust in partnership with Archaeological Survey of India.

In 2017,  Nila Gumbad was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Monument as part of the extended Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site.