9 Feb : The holy city of Varanasi may become the country’s first ‘World Heritage City’ if INTACH has its way.The Indian National Trust for Art, Culture and Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MFAC) of Spain signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which the two agencies will jointly conserve the heritage monuments in the temple town of Varanasi and develop world-class infrastructure in the area.
"We have decided to work together to get Varanasi declared as a ‘World Heritage City’. This is the beginning of a series of cooperation with Spain," INTACH Chairman S K Misra said after signing the MoU with Ambassador of Spain Ion De la Riva Guzman de Frutos at New Delhi on Monday.
Experts in Spain had conserved and restored the ancient glory of the city of Bracelona when it hosted the Olympic Games and also the industrial city of Bilbao. They have also created beaches in the city.
De la Riva said INTACH should act as a "nanny" for the transformation of the country’s traditional cities as they lack infrastructure facilities."I am happy that we have joined hands for a very ambitious project. Varanasi is one of the unique cities in the world and Spain will do everything to conserve Indian cities.
When I think of India, the first thing comes to mind is beauty, the natural beauty. That beauty should be protected and preserved," De la Riva, who had lived in Varanasi for 16 years, said.
As part of the MoU, experts from Spain and a team from INTACH will jointly visit Varanasi and identify the areas for conservation and preservation. Experts from both the countries will discuss the modalities of the project at a meeting here next week.
"The idea is to get the ‘World Heritage City’ status in two years. First, the joint team will visit the temples, museum and the famous textile industries in Varanasi and prepare a plan to develop infrastructure on par with international standards," Misra said.
Historical sites in Varanasi such as the Sarnath Museum, Ashoka Lion Capital, ghats such as Assi Ghat, Dasaswamedh Ghat, Harish Chandra Ghat, Manijarnika Ghat, Tulsi Ghat and Chunar Fort and Jaunpur will be conserved and infrastructure along these places will be developed.
"Funding for the projects will be done by the Government of India, the state government, Spanish Government and various global cultural agencies," Misra said.
The Ambassador said the heritage sites in India lack conservation and asked the INTACH to be "pro-active" in taking up conservation and preservation projects.
He said the MoU was aimed at increasing people-to-people contacts between India and Spain and assured that Spain was committed in helping India in developing its heritage sites.
"This is not an empty agreement. Experts from Spain will attend a conference on urban development in Jodhpur next week and they will share their expertise with Indian experts on the subject," the Ambassador said.
Both MFAC and INTACH will undertake projects and activities to help protect, preserve and promote cultural heritage in India, the MoU said.
The ambassador added that the Spain Cultural Centre for Spain and Latin America will be inaugurated this year.