Visitors rue lack of facilities at 299-yr-old Jantar Mantar observatory

New Delhi

Weeks after the Delhi High Court asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to file a status report on the functionality of instruments at Jantar Mantar, several visitors expressed their displeasure at the lack of facilities in the 299-year-old observatory.

Sajith K.S., a tourist from Kerala visiting Jantar Mantar for the first time, said it was difficult to appreciate the observatory without access to the historical and scientific facts about the structures here.

“In the absence of designated guides and pamphlets, to shed light on the history and functioning of the instruments, it is difficult for a tourist like me to understand the significance of this site,” said Mr. Sajith.

On January 20, the High Court, while hearing a contempt petition against the ASI for alleged non-compliance with an earlier order issued by the court, asked the agency to file a status report within four weeks. The next hearing is on April 24.

The ASI had given an undertaking to the High Court in September 2010 to restore the national monument to its original glory and make all its instruments functional. However, the petitioner told the court that the instruments at Jantar Mantar were still not functional and that things hadn’t changed here in the last 12 years.

The instruments, or yantra, at the Jantar Mantar observatory include Samrat Yantra (to measure the local time and declination of the sun), Jai Prakash Yantra (to measure the movement of the sun and stars), Ram Yantra (to measure the altitude and azimuth of celestial bodies) and Misra Yantra (to measure the local time and the longitude of a celestial object).

Visitors to this national monument said that without designated guides and detailed literature, they had to rely on signage to understand the significance of the structures here. However, most such markings in the observatory are illegible, said Paromita Mitra.