India News | Light & Sound Show Timings at ASI Monuments Till 9 Pm; Can Be Extended with Permission:Patel

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) The timing of light and sound shows at sites under the custodianship of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been extended to 9 pm and can be further extended to 10 pm if the district administration permits so, Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The ASI, he said during the Question Hour, has done many major changes and this was part of it.

"The ASI has done some major changes...It has extended timings for light and sound show till 9 pm. If district administration is ready it can be extended to 10 pm," Patel said in the Upper House in reply to a supplementary as to what steps the government is taking to make the ASI profitable.

Patel said filmmakers can now get online permission for shooting at ASI monuments in 20 days as compared to one year earlier, while the fee for it has been slashed to Rs 50,000 against Rs one lakh earlier.

He said barring world heritage sites, photo and videography has been made free, while ticket pricing is being decided as per footfall in a professional manner.

In reply to another supplementary by Narendra Jhadav (nominated) about the financial model for museums and why most museums in the country have turned into godowns, Patel said he did not agree with the member's description and added that the number of artefacts with museums was so high that only six to eight per cent could be displayed at one point of time.

In reply to a supplementary by Sonal Mansingh (nominated), Patel said that during the pandemic the government helped artists.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)