Heavy rains damaged a small portion of a historic Dogra monument in Mubarak Mandi here prompting Minister of State for Tourism, Priya Sethi to instruct expedition of its restoration work.
"A small portion of the three-storied building in Mubarak Mandi complex caved in due to heavy rains in Jammu on Monday night," an official said today.
"There was no injury to anyone as it was an abandoned building, which was under repair," the official said.
Sethi visited the site yesterday evening and took stock of the damages.
Expressing concern over the delay in the restoration work being carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), she asked officials to ascertain other viable options and involve some other technical agencies "which can press more manpower and resources to ensure time-bound completion of restoration work".
Sethi directed the executing agency concerned and the Divisional Commissioner to put in concerted efforts to restore the heritage monument at the earliest.
During her visit, Sethi also hit out at the previous regime for "under-utilising" allocated funds for the monument.
"The previous regime did not optimally utilise the Rs 250 crore funds allocated for the restoration works of Mubarak Mandi complex. This callous attitude has adversely affected the pace of restoration works," she said.
