New Delhi: Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena on Saturday launched the project for conservation of iconic Gole Market to convert it into a museum themed on women achievers of the country. The project also involves redevelopment of area surrounding Gole Market. It will have service block and subway, a New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) statement said.
The originality of the historic Gole Market structure will not be tampered with while carrying out the restoration works, Saxena said on the occasion. He said that it will be the first-of-its-kind museum in the country dedicated to women achievers in different fields. The museum will showcase the contributions made by women of India in art, literature, culture, social sector, medicine, science and technology and especially their role in the struggle for independence of the nation, the statement said.
The Gole Market main building is a heritage structure that progressively became dilapidated and has been lying closed for the past more than a decade. Saxena had visited the site and promised to take up its restoration and rejuvenation. The scope of restoration work involves retrofitting, rehabilitation and conservation of the 1,407 square metres main Gole Market building at a cost of Rs 21.66 crore, it said.
Saxena hoped that the heritage site will evolve as a central place for visitors in the coming days. A subway and a dedicated parking space will also be part of the Gole Market project, to facilitate the visitors to the museum, he added. The LG along with the Minister of State for Culture and External Affairs, Meenakshi Lekhi also visited the construction site of JPN Library at Udyan Marg.
Being developed by NDMC, in the heart of New Delhi, the JPN Library will house more than 3,000 books with a seating capacity of 200. While the first floor of the library will have library rooms, kids area, reading area, play area and multimedia audio-visual rooms, the second floor will comprise researcher room, e-library and newspaper/magazine sections.
The JPN Library will have a total area of 2,250 square metres over three-storeys of 755 square metres each and will be constructed at a cost of Rs 6.81 crore, the statement added. (PTI)
