Patiala, July 12: PATIALA monuments are all set to be restored to their pristine glory. Huge funds are to be invested in this exercise. Old heritage buildings are planned to be refurbished and restored to their original glory.

Official sources said that the state government had drawn up a series of important plans to develop Patiala as a major tourist destination since the city was full of palaces, museums and gardens encompassing rich cultural and traditional architecture. They said that the old and glorious monument of Sheranwala Gate would be rebuilt with its original grandeur and design with inbuilt gurudwara, temple, church and mosque as a testimony to the age-old cultural and secular values of the erstwhile princely state of Patiala.

These sources said that the Mohindra Kothi, where the state government had granted permission to run the newly established Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law from the current academic session provisionally till it constructed its own campus, would also be preserved and conserved as a heritage site along with ‘Maiji di Serai’.

The state government was also committed to preserve the landmark monuments marking the rich historical past like the Qila Mubarak, Old Moti Bagh Palace, Sheesh Mahal and Bahadurgarh fort as Patiala had been declared as Counter Magnet Town under the NCR Plan.

It is pertinent to mention here that Patiala, which had historic gates built by the erstwhile rulers of this princely state, lost many of the gates owing to official neglect. The important gates which were lost during the last few decades included the Lahori Gate, Sheranwala Gate, and Saifabadi Gate.

There was a popular demand for the restoration of these gates which were crumbling having faced the fury of weather over the centuries.

The Samania Gate which was damaged a couple of years back when one of its massive wooden gates was got repaired under supervision of the Intach experts.

Sirhindi Gate, near the Patiala-Rajpura road, was also reinforced almost seven years back when a portion of the roof of the gate came crashing down following incessant rains.

This gate has also since been repaired and given a fresh coat of paint.

Official sources said that the Heritage Society had decided to take up the restoration of all the historic gates, including the Samania Gate, Sunami Gate, Sirhindi Gate and the Top Khana Gate two years back.

It was proposed to request corporate and industrial houses besides other establishments to sponsor the maintenance of these gates. However, the society did not get any response in this regard.