NEW DELHI: The Pink Fort has become a high-security zone as India hosts, for the primary time, the twentieth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of UNESCO, days after a lethal blast close to the monument.The week-long assembly, being held from December 8 to 13 contained in the fort advanced, comes towards the backdrop of the November 10 Pink Fort blast that killed 15 folks and injured greater than two dozen, prompting an enormous safety overhaul in and across the UNESCO World Heritage Web site.
A number of layers of safety have been put in place, with Delhi Police and paramilitary forces manning each the perimeter and interior precincts of the fort. Delegates and accredited media getting into from the busy Chandni Chowk facet are being funneled by a labyrinthine sequence of barricades earlier than they’ll method the closely guarded Lahori Gate and entry the venue.“This is identical spot the place the blast occurred in November, and since this can be a very massive worldwide occasion being held in Delhi, safety could be very tight, day or evening,” a police personnel on obligation mentioned, pointing to a layer of soot nonetheless seen on a road facet close to the gate of the Lal Quila Metro Station, the place contemporary rows of ‘Delhi Police’ barricades now stand.Solely UNESCO-accredited delegates and media with devoted badges are being allowed entry into the Pink Fort advanced. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which has jurisdiction over the positioning, has closed the monument to normal guests from December 5 and plans to maintain it shut until December 14.Whereas an armed CISF contingent guards the entry from the Delhi Gate facet, Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel keep a continuing vigil inside, monitoring the motion of delegates and company. After darkish, bike-borne police patrol the road skirting the fort’s perimeter, from Lahori Gate to Delhi Gate, as a part of the improved deployment.The high-profile session formally opened on December 7 with Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as chief visitor. Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, UNESCO Director-Normal Khaled El-Enany, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and India’s Ambassador and Everlasting Delegate to UNESCO, Vishal V Sharma, attended the ceremony.On Wednesday, India’s Deepavali, the competition of lights, was inscribed on the UNESCO Consultant Checklist of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, including to the importance of the gathering for the host nation. Within the night, a cultural program was organized for delegates on the lawns going through the long-lasting Diwan-i-Aam, adopted by a gala dinner held underneath a decent safety ring.“It’s a pleasure to be in India for the primary time, to know extra about this land and its folks,” mentioned Abu Dhabi-based Walid Al Halani, a member of the UAE delegation, talking on the sidelines of the session.Outdoors the high-security cordon, life is slowly returning to regular within the adjoining Outdated Lajpat Rai Market, whilst merchants nonetheless converse in hushed tones in regards to the November blast. “We’ve got to maneuver on, however the scars are there,” mentioned a dealer who didn’t want to be named.The Pink Fort, constructed by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan because the palace of his capital Shahjahanabad, is one in every of Delhi’s most visited vacationer points of interest, drawing heavy footfall every day in regular instances. Its huge fortified partitions, whose development was accomplished between 1638 and 1648, have lengthy been a logo of India’s political and cultural heritage.In 2023, the fort additionally hosted the maiden India Artwork, Structure and Design Biennale (IAADB), reinforcing its standing as a marquee venue for main nationwide and worldwide cultural occasions. The continuing UNESCO ICH session, officers say, has additional underlined each its world profile and the safety challenges that include it.