Five years on, restoration work resumes at two monuments inside Lodhi Gardens

NDMC too, is fixing the footpath near Bada Gumbad

While Bada Gumbad, which is a gateway attached to the Bada Gumbad mosque, was built in 1494; the tomb of Sikander Lodi was constructed by the last Sultan of Delhi from the Lodi dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi, in 1517. All five monuments inside the Lodhi Gardens are ASI-protected.

An ASI official said, “The dead plaster has already been removed from the portion of the Bada Gumbad which is being restored… the work is being done in phases, and will take a while.” The scaffolding on the monument, however, hasn’t deterred visitors from finding a quiet corner inside the monument or taking pictures.

In 2013, the five-year project that INTACH undertook at the Lodhi Gardens ended, with the Trust citing “funding” as the reason. A source said, “The monuments inside the Lodhi Gardens were in a very bad shape at the time, with chemical cleaning being done in the early 2000.”

The New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), too, is fixing the footpath near Bada Gumbad. “We removed the stone and put new ones… work began 45 days ago,” said a worker.