Next time you visit one of Delhi's popular monuments, a red signboard will greet you at the entrance, inscribed with the architectural details and historical significance of the structure.



To educate tourists about Delhi's vast heritage, especially with the Commonwealth Games drawing closer, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is in the process of setting up cultural signboards in red standstone at all 46 monuments selected for a facelift by the Games next year.



Often receiving complaints that not all of Delhi's monuments have proper signboards to serve as tourist information, ASI officials said the new signboards would act as guide maps for visitors. "However, we want to ensure that there is complete uniformity and they should look identical,'' said ASI director-general K N Shrivastava. The work has been outsourced to some agencies, including INTACH Delhi Chapter, which is currently also working on restoring five ASI-protected tombs in Lodi Garden. Sources said there were three other agencies apart from INTACH working on the project.



The new signboards will replace all existing ones. "Typically, red sandstone pattern looks elegant and is also long-lasting as we know from experience. They do not get damaged easily and many historical monuments are also made from red sandstone so it will gel well with the background,'' said a senior ASI official. Some of the popular monuments that will sport these new cultural signboards are Tughlaqabad Fort, Qutub complex, Purana Qila, Siri Fort wall, Uggar Sain ki Baoli, Delhi Gate, Neela Gumbad, Ferozeshah Kotla, Khooni Darwaaza, Hauz Khas monuments etc.



For the benefit of the lakhs of tourists visiting Delhi during the Games, ASI has also finalised brochures containing details of the 46 selected monuments that will be made available at all protected monuments undergoing a facelift for the Games. These will be given out to tourists for free and their basic objective will be to familiarise foreign visitors with Delhi's history. "In addition, tourist guide books will also be available at ticketed monuments like Humayun's Tomb, Safdarjung Tomb or Red Fort for a nominal price,'' said an official. These guide books will also be available at book stores, newspaper vendors, airport, ticket counters etc. Audio guide services for the benefit of foreign nationals is already in place at Qutub Minar and officials said they hoped to spread the service to other world heritage sites in coming months. The service is available in five foreign languages.