The two iconic North and South Block buildings of Raisina Hills were lit up with dynamic lighting using “16 million colour combinations” on Wednesday. The lit up ceremony was done by the oldest employee of the government Mr Mahipal Singh. The work has been done by Central Public Works Department (CPWD). CPWD conceptualized and implemented this idea of lighting up. For installing lighting fixtures, a private vendor is being hired.
Located at Delhi, Raisina Hills is the place where the most important buildings of government of India are situated. The lighting up of significant hills was taken by The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.
It is not the first time that any historic building lit up. This ceremony of lighting up historic sites is also happened around the world also. Many monuments like London’s Big Ben, Paris’s Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House and many others are light up during evening hours every day.
Who attended the ceremony?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman attended the inauguration of the new lighting system.
Lighting on Raisina Hills
Raisina Hills in Lutyens’ Delhi will be illuminated with both dynamic and static lighting from 7 pm to 5 am all through the year. People can experience the best view from 8 pm to 9 pm every day. Usually, the Central Vista of the area was lit up only on eight days of the year, including on Republic Day, Independence Day and Diwali.
Experts comment of this effort
This work of CPWD is not considered very smart. There are many people who find this lighting work unappealing. In fact, conservationists and experts called it unskilled and novice. “A national monument cannot be treated like a plaything. Using the entire spectrum of a rainbow could be done in a nightclub or exhibition or some carnival, never on a serious building of this stature”, reacted one of the lighting designers and expert.
