Only people in 'decent clothes' will be allowed inside Imambara: Lucknow DM

District Magistrate (DM) Lucknow, Kaushal Raj Sharma issued dress codes and other guidelines for tourists visiting historical monuments in the city.

"No more short skirts and skimpy tops at Chhota and Bada Imambaras. Visitors will have to wear clothes that cover their body, keeping in mind the sanctity of the over-two-centuries old monuments. Professional photography and video shoots have also been banned,"  Kaushal Raj Sharma said. 

The guidelines also prohibit all kinds of professional photography or shoots inside the premises of the historical monuments in the city and mentioned there will be a punishment for the guards who do not follow these orders.

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"Carrying camera, tripod, video cameras inside Bara and Chota Imambara is prohibited. Furthermore, entering the premises of Imambara with vulgar dresses too is not allowed. Only people with decent clothes will be allowed inside the premises of the monuments," the guidelines issued by DM Sharma read.

The DM's guidelines also mention increasing security in and around the premises of the historical monuments.

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Upset over tourists roaming around in revealing clothes within the premises, a group of Shia clerics, historians and civil society members wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Archaeological Survey of India and the district administration, seeking action in the matter.

The signatories questioned why a code of conduct was not made mandatory for visitors to the Imambaras while other shrines such as the Golden Temple in Amritsar had strictly implemented them. The DM said that the ASI had also been directed to renovate parts of the monuments that are showing signs of decay.

Believed to be inspired by the Persian, and, by extension, Mughal architecture, the Imambara stands quietly on a busy road in old Lucknow, oblivious to the chaos around it. 

It has neither a central dome, nor minarets, but is dominated by arched doorways and windows with multiple small domes. It is the only building of such magnitude to have been built without the support of either beams or pillars. The entire weight of the monument is balanced on the arched doors, windows and corridors.