Rs 3 cr sought for Kapurthala palace

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) has sought Rs 3 crore from the ministry of defence for restoring Jagatjit Palace in Kapurthala and also submitted a proposal for converting the sainik school there into a defence university.

"Since Jagatjit Palace, a heritage site in Kapurthala, is under the defence ministry because of the sainik school near it, we have sought Rs 3 crore from the ministry for the restoration work at the palace," Intach Chairman S K Mishra told reporters here.

"We have also put forth a proposal before the ministry for shifting the school and setting up a national defence university there," Mishra said. Details are being worked out.

Intach was trying to organise funds from the World Monument Fund for restoring Qila Mubarak in Patiala and has also drawn estimates for conservation work at Shish Mahal there, he said.

"The cities of Kapurthala, Patiala and Amritsar in Punjab have a rich cultural heritage, and to showcase it, we are organsing heritage festivals there, for the third year in a row," he said.

While the Kapurthala festival would be held between October 18 and 20, the Amritsar festival was to be organised during November 18"�23 and in Patiala from February 12"�20, next year, he said.

At the Kapurthala festival, well known Pakistani artists like Sher Miandad, Javed and Babar Niazi, and Jawad and Mazhar Ali Khan would be performing, he added.