Pune: The historic monument of Shaniwar Wada, which is the 18th century structure and the seat of power during the Peshwa rule, opened its doors after more than eight months on Wednesday (January 6). Along with this heritage structure, Aga Khan Palace as well as the famous Karla Bhaja, Bedsa caves in Lonavala, besides forts like Lohagad, Visapur, Rajmachi and Shivneri forts have also been opened for tourists starting today.
Among the first visitors, family members of IAS officer Rubal Agarwal – Banwarilal Gupta, Sumitra Gupta and Shikha Bansal – was also spotted at the Shaniwarwada premises.
Banwarilal Gupta, father of Rubal Agarwal
Banwarilal Gupta, father of Rubal Agarwal, said, “I felt good after visiting Shaniwarwada and we expect that it will stay open for tourists.”
Shikha Bansal and Sumitra Gupta said, “We have come from Rajasthan to Pune as tourists and we are happy that we could cover and visit this historical place. We are also happy that hygiene and social distancing norms are being followed at this place. All the employees are following the norms. Everybody was fed up with Covid-19 and wanted a break. People are enjoying the outing and the weather is also good. Life is returning to normalcy and we are happy about this.”
After Pune showed declining numbers of COVID-19 cases, offices, schools, restaurants, hotels, and temples in the city have reopened following COVID-19 protocols. To facilitate tourists, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has also started an online app for tickets.
ASI Conservation Assistant (Pune Circle) Gajanan Mandaware said, “This online facility is very easy for everyone to use. We will be allowing 2000 tourists in the morning and evening, while we follow every protocol of social distancing, though today being the first day, we had about 100 tourists by the end of the day.”