The city government and other civic bodies have been directed by the Delhi High Court to respond to an artist's plea seeking compensation for the damage caused to some antique paintings in her art museum due to waterlogging recently.
Issuing notices to the Delhi government, DDA and PWD, Justice Manmohan directed them to file the reply within four weeks and posted hearing on the plea of Arpana Caur, who runs the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, on November 8.
The court, in its order, also sought explanation from the civic officials as to how rain water had on July 20 entered the art museum and damaged old paintings, collected over a period of decades.
The academy is located in Siri Fort institutional area.
Filing her plea through counsel M L Lahoty, Caur said that on July 20, the drain and the adjacent parking lot was over flooded.
"The fury of the flood was so fierce that the main wooden door of the academy came crumbling down and within less than a half-an-hour 6 to 8 feet of muddy water entered the entire lower part of the building.
"More than 200 rare folk paintings and more than 100 antique miniature paintings and sculptures were destroyed. Since the paintings remained submerged for hours in muddy water, the natural pigment papers and canvas were torn apart and the natural colour used 150 to 200 years back was wiped out," the petition said.
