The Delhi high court has asked the Delhi government and civic agencies to respond to the plea of an artist, who has sought compensation for the damage caused to some antique paintings in her art museum due to waterlogging during the recent rain in the city.
Issuing notices to the Delhi government, Delhi Development Authority and Public Works Department, Justice Manmohan directed them to file the reply within four weeks and posted hearing on the plea of Arpana Caur, who runs the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, on 8 November.
The court, in its order, also sought explanation from the civic officials as to how rain water had on 20 July entered the art museum and damaged old paintings, collected over a period of decades.
Caur’s academy is located in Siri Fort institutional area. She, in her plea to the high court, said that the drain and the adjacent parking lot were over flooded on 20 July.
‘The fury of the flood was so fierce that the main wooden door of the academy came crumbling down and within less than half-an-hour six to eight feet of muddy water entered the entire lower part of the building,’ said the petition, which sought a direction for payment of exemplary damage/ compensation to her to enable her to retrieve/restore the ‘precious collection and national heritage’ and also sought the court to fix responsibility.
‘More than 200 rare folk paintings and more than 100 antique miniature paintings and sculptures were destroyed.
‘Since the paintings remained submerged for hours in the muddy water, the natural pigment papers and canvas were torn apart and the natural colour used 150 to 200 years back was wiped out,’ the petition said.
She claimed that for decades her academy had never faced any flooding problem and alleged that the agencies had covered the rainwater drain on August Kranti Marg for Commonwealth Games 2010 which created a massive backflow of water this monsoon, causing dirty water to gush into houses.
Issuing notices to the Delhi government, Delhi Development Authority and Public Works Department, Justice Manmohan directed them to file the reply within four weeks and posted hearing on the plea of Arpana Caur, who runs the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, on 8 November.
The court, in its order, also sought explanation from the civic officials as to how rain water had on 20 July entered the art museum and damaged old paintings, collected over a period of decades.
Caur’s academy is located in Siri Fort institutional area. She, in her plea to the high court, said that the drain and the adjacent parking lot were over flooded on 20 July.
‘The fury of the flood was so fierce that the main wooden door of the academy came crumbling down and within less than half-an-hour six to eight feet of muddy water entered the entire lower part of the building,’ said the petition, which sought a direction for payment of exemplary damage/ compensation to her to enable her to retrieve/restore the ‘precious collection and national heritage’ and also sought the court to fix responsibility.
‘More than 200 rare folk paintings and more than 100 antique miniature paintings and sculptures were destroyed.
‘Since the paintings remained submerged for hours in the muddy water, the natural pigment papers and canvas were torn apart and the natural colour used 150 to 200 years back was wiped out,’ the petition said.
She claimed that for decades her academy had never faced any flooding problem and alleged that the agencies had covered the rainwater drain on August Kranti Marg for Commonwealth Games 2010 which created a massive backflow of water this monsoon, causing dirty water to gush into houses.