Regarded as one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, Varanasi may in a few years find its long-due place on the Unesco’s list of world heritage cities.
Regarded as one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, Varanasi may in a few years find its long-due place on the Unesco’s list of world heritage cities.
The ministry of foreign affairs and cooperation of Spain and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), an autonomous body that works towards preservation of national heritage, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the fields of protection, preservation and promotion of cultural heritage sites in the two countries.
After signing the agreement on Monday, ambassador of Spain in India Riva Guzman de Frutos told DNA, “Varanasi best describes Indian culture to the world. It is a city of temples, lights, learning and a heritage that has witnessed centuries. However, with growing population and modernization this heritage is crumbling and needs to be preserved. We certainly want a city like Varanasi to be on the world heritage city list and together with Intach we plan to restore the city.”
Intach chairman SK Misra said discussions on modalities for the Varanasi project would begin next week and a project report would be presented to the ministry of culture within the next two years. The project would be partially funded by the Spanish government. The restoration of the city, including landscaping, cleaning and restoration of the ghats, would be done in a phased manner.
Spain has an impressive record of urban renewal and restoration of heritage. The city of Bilbao, once called an “ugly industrial city”, was tranformed to one of northern Spain’s most sought after tourist destinations. It is with this expertise that Spain wants to restore Varanasi.
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