New Delhi The Barapullah bridge in Nizamuddin, built during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir, will be restored and rejuvenated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) over the next three months, officials with the lieutenant governor (LG) secretariat said. The 200-metre bridge was handed over to the ASI on Sunday, after an anti-encroachment drive over the past week, they said. LG VK Saxena said on Sunday: “Delhi’s another heritage (structure) 400-year-old Barapullah bridge with 12 piers will soon regain its lost glory.
The bridge which was under heavy encroachment during my last visit on Sunday (August 4), was handed over to ASI. which will restore the structure in three months.” He said that currently, de-silting of the drain is underway.
“ASI will take up the restoration work immediately after the de-silting is completed,” he said. The elevated Barapullah corridor and the under-construction Barapullah Phase-3 bridge over the Yamuna derive their names from the historic bridge. Currently, the structure is surrounded by the Nizamuddin Basti, with a drain passing through it.
The bridge, which was built by Minar Banu Agha, under Jahangir’s tutelage, was named “Barapullah” due to its 12 piers (“Barah” and “Pulla” colloquially) and 11 arches. According to historians, the bridge was built in 1628 and the road between the bridge and Humayun’s Tomb was a tree-lined path and one of the most beautiful bridges of Delhi. Mughals used the bridge to cross .