In bid to protect ‘heritage’, ASI to inspect medieval site

If the “hammam” is lost, it will be the fourth such structure of historical value to go in the Taj city, heritage enthusiasts say

- Hemendra Chaturvedi

AGRA: In a bid to protect heritage, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has decided to send a team to inspect the site of a “hammam” (public bathing place), presumed to be of the medieval era, in Agra.

With an arched gateway in front, the site is tucked away in the vicinity of a fruit market amid palpable neglect in the congested old city area of Chipitola here. Even as the enclosure is in a shabby condition with its floor broken, the ASI’s welcome initiative comes after some conservationists took to social media and expressed concern over “heritage being lost” in the Taj city.

The heritage enthusiasts claimed this “hammam” was built, maybe by the Mughals, and it was part of a massive ‘sarai’ (inn) complex for a long time. If the “hammam” is lost, it will be the fourth such structure of heritage value to go, the enthusiasts alleged.

The others are an 18th-century ‘haveli’ in old Agra, the Bhuri Khan Mosque on the Sikandra outskirts and a part of Bagh-e-Jahanara.