Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena visited the Mughal era Shalimar Bagh – Sheesh Mahal complex here and inspected the progress of restoration works of the monument.

During the inspection on Friday, Saxena expressed satisfaction at the pace and status of the rejuvenation work of the monument and the complex that started after his first visit to the location in January this year.

The site, once home to architectural grandeur and Charbagh Gardens, which also served as the site of coronation of emperor Aurangzeb in 1658, had been lying decrepit due to years of “neglect”, started to be restored to its past glory after the Saxena’s visit, the LG office said on Saturday.

“The main building, once a majestic structure of red sand stone with intricate carvings (naqqashi), on its pillars and jharokhas had lost colour and the pillars and jharokhas had become dilapidated. The main building also has a well behind it from where water was pulled up to a storage on the roof of the main building, from where water fell down in a gradient feeding the channels in front of the building and the pressure caused due to gradient led the water to flow out from the fountains in the channel,’’ it said.

The works of rejuvenation and restoration are in full swing, being undertaken by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) that owns the park, in collaboration with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the LG office said.

Around 30 artisans, mostly from Rajasthan have been working for the last three months to bring back the architectural grandeur and colour of the monument, as well as restoring the carvings in the historical gardens, it said.

This was Saxena’s third visit to the site, after he first visited it on January 20, this year.

He appreciated the effort of both ASI and DDA who are working in tandem for bringing the dilapidated structure to its past glory.

Work is also in progress to revive the water body that once existed here and fed the network of water channels and fountains in the Charbagh style garden.

It may be noted that works for restoration of Shalimar Bagh started after successful completion of similar works at the Mehrauli Archaeological Park. Similar restoration works are also under progress at Roshanara Bagh, not very far from the Shalimar Bagh and the Sanjay Van in South Delhi.