Hwajong Lee, an expert from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), on Friday visited the Gingee Fort in Villupuram district which has been nominated by the Central Government, along with 11 other forts that make up the Maratha Military Landscapes, for UNESCO’s World Heritage Site tag for the year 2024-25.
The visit is a precursor to Mr. Lee submitting his report to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which will decide whether the monuments could be accorded the World Heritage Site tag in 2025.
Over the last few years, the Tamil Nadu Government in association with the Tourism Department and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been making efforts to help put Gingee on the world tourism map. The fort is under the control of the ASI and a dossier and management plan was submitted by Development and Research Organisation for Nature, Arts and Heritage (DRONAH), an interdisciplinary organisation.
According to official sources, accompanied by senior officials from ASI, Mr. Lee visited the Rajagiri fort, the stepped well, Durbar hall and the Kalyana mahal. He discussed the boundary of the fort, structures within 100 metres, and those in the buffer zone of 300 metres from the structure.
The ICOMOS expert was apprised of the fort’s salient features by a team of officials, comprising of Navratna Kumar Pathak, Regional Director (Southern Region), ASI and M. Kalimuthu, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Chennai Circle and Shikha Jain, Director, Dronah.
According to a senior official, “We are hopeful that the expert will file a report recommending the World Heritage Site tag. Once the fort gets the tag, it will attract a good number of tourists from across the world.”
A security cordon was formed around the fort with the help of the District police and no outsiders including media persons were allowed to enter the premises during the inspection.
Published - September 27, 2024 11:35 pm IST
