MCD starts heritage walks at Feroz Shah Kotla to spotlight Delhi history

The MCD will begin its Summer Circuit with a heritage walk at Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday. The initiative aims to deepen public engagement with Delhi's layered past through guided visits and talks.

In Short

• Residents can join the early-morning event starting at 6 am
• The Summer Circuit will feature walks and seminars across Delhi
• Officials aim to trace the capital's evolution through monuments and settlements

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is set to hold its first heritage walk at Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday morning as part of an effort to build awareness about Delhi's historical legacy, officials said. Residents have been invited to join the walk, which will begin at 6 am at the Feroz Shah Kotla complex.

The event is part of the civic body's proposed "Summer Circuit" programme, under which it plans to organise a series of heritage walks and seminars across the city over the next few months. Officials said the initiative is aimed at tracing Delhi's historical evolution through some of its prominent monuments and old settlements.

The circuit walk is being organised by the MCD's heritage cell. "Firoz Shah Kotla or Firozabad, was the fifth fortified city of Delhi. It was built in the 14th century and holds significant historical value," Sanjeev Kumar Singh, an executive engineer affiliated with the MCD heritage cell, said.

According to officials, the plan is to hold six early-morning walks on the first and third Saturdays of each month. They said the next round of walks will be planned after the summer season recedes and that some of them may be shifted to winter, when participation is likely to be better because of more favourable weather conditions.

Officials said the proposed routes include Lal Kot, also known as Quila Rai Pithora, which is considered Delhi's earliest fortified settlement, the Qutub Complex, Feroz Shah Kotla Fort, and parts of Shahjahanabad, with a focus on its surviving gates. One of the planned walks is expected to centre on remains from the Mauryan period, including rock edicts and pillars associated with Emperor Ashoka.

No separate fee will be charged for the walks and seminars, although participants will have to pay entry charges at monuments wherever applicable, officials said. The MCD had earlier organised a similar series of heritage walks in winter 2024, including programmes in the Qutub Minar area covering Delhi's ancient settlements. With the Feroz Shah Kotla event, the civic body is now set to begin another round of walks focused on the capital's layered history.

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