Red Fort not alone; Dalmia Bharat also adopting 14th century Gandikota Fort

While Dalmia Bharat group will be beginning a facelift work at Delhi’s iconic Red Fort in the coming weeks, it is also gearing up to start work on the 14th century Gandikota Fort in Andhra Pradesh under the government’s ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme. The contract for the Gandikota Fort located in the Kadapa district of the state was signed by the Dalmia Bharat group on the same day as it signed the Red Fort deal with the Union ministries of tourism and culture and the Archaeological Survey of India, on April 9, 2018.

Dalmia Bharat officials said they adopted the Gandikota Fort since it was located close to their cement factory in the district which makes it logistically easier for them to monitor development and maintenance work at the monument overlooking a stunning gorge carved by the Pennar river in Andhra Pradesh.

“The location of the Gandikota Fort is quite remote. It is a living monument, with many households residing there. We do not want to evict any of them and wish to involve them in the monument’s maintenance. One of our primary tasks will be cleaning up the area as certain parts are being used as open toilets. No one wants to smell ammonia while strolling through the Fort,” said Sundeep Kumar, executive director of Dalmia Bharat group.

Shah Jahan's iconic Red Fort in Delhi is now Dalmia group's Red Fort

In one of the most spectacular contracts ever won by a corporate house in India, the 77-year-old Dalmia group has created history by adopting a slice of it. The conglomerate has become the first corporate house in India’s history to adopt a historical monument in a contract worth Rs 250 million (or Rs 25 crore) spanning five years. The monument in question is none other than the 17th century Red Fort, built by India’s fifth Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, as he moved his administrative capital from Agra to present-day Delhi. The Dalmia group won the contract by beating IndiGo Airlines and the GMR group in the race to bag one of the most prestigious contracts under the Indian government's ‘Adopt A Heritage’ scheme.

The Dalmia group has started brainstorming on how it intends to develop the Red Fort over the next few months. It will start work on May 23 before handing it over temporarily to security agencies in July as sanitisation measures kick in for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s last independence day speech of his present tenure. The Dalmia group’s top officials said they have plans to complete night illumination before handing it over temporarily for the Prime Minister’s Independence Day address. Work on other aspects of the contract would resume in full swing after that. Among other things, the group plans to install tactile flooring for the physically challenged and signage that depicts the monument’s history. It also plans to use the Red Fort for various events such as music concerts and other cultural activities to promote greater tourist interest in the monument. As the corporate house moves forward with its planned works, it would also launch various marketing and advertising activities to popularise the revamped Red Fort for people to visit.