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| Azad, Soz, advocate combined efforts for heritage preservation | | |
Srinagar, Dec 2
Describing Valley of Kashmir as the epitome of great composite civilization, Chief Minister Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad said that since he took over it has been his personal desire to revive the pristine glory of all heritage sites in all parts of Jammu and Kashmir. He said Srinagar is a living heritage and unfortunately Dal Lake which is the face of its beauty has reached a dead end and we all have to combine our efforts to revive all water bodies and other sites for which Kashmir is famous world over. He said he has launched a programme at Jammu for protection of old palaces and other heritage sites and emphasized all intellectuals and opinion makers to play their role in revival of such sites in the valley as well. He praised the courageous role of media in focusing attention on revival of heritage tourism.
The Chief Minister was addressing a seminar held in connection with Kashmir Heritage Day at SKICC here today organized by UNESCO and Peoples’ Empowerment Mission.
Union Minister for Water Resources, Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz, Minister for Education, Haj and Auqaf Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed, Minister for Forests, Housing and Urban Development Qazi Muhammad Afzal, Honarary Secretary Bombay Environmental Action Group, Mr. Shyam Chainani, senior officers, intellectuals, UNESCO experts and prominent citizens were present on this occasion.
The Chief Minister said there is an increasing level of awareness about the strength of our culture and heritage and recent initiatives at the local level are worth appreciating however more concrete steps are needed. He expressed hope that the seminar will lead to specifying the issues, articulating the response of the society to these and recommending a job chart to the government. He said that strength, diversity and range of the Kashmir civilization are phenomenal in impact and all the major religions and thoughts ranging from Shavism to Sufism have thrived here. The interaction of religious thoughts and cultural streams made Kashmir a unique cultural commodity adding that Srinagar has been designated as a living heritage.
Mr. Azad said development has taken a toll of environment, ecology and heritage and Srinagar the dazzling icon of cultural assets also suffered on these and many more accounts. Violence also took its toll. He expressed hope that the deliberations of the seminar would evolve ideas and suggestions which will help in preserving our heritage.
The Chief Minister said the government has decided to launch a vigorous drive against encroachers occupying state land and added that illegal structures in Dal lake and Jehlum banks would be demolished. He said about 20 lakh kanals of state land costing Rs. 25,000 crore have been encroached in Jammu and Kashmir and announced that from January a drive is being launched to retrieve this land. He said people having encroached state land would be allowed one kanal against 25 percent market value for residential purpose and another 9 kanals would be allowed when they pay 50 percent of the market value. In no case, more than 10 kanals of such land would be allowed and this land would be retrieved.
Mr. Azad said attention should be paid for preservation of literary assets in different languages like Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Urdu and of course Kashmiri and asked the University of Kashmir and Academy of Art, Culture and Languages to work in this direction. He stressed for digitization of valuable manuscripts. He said a modern museum and heritage park have been sanctioned and these will come up soon. He appreciated the initiative taken by Union Minister for Water Resources Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz for environment conservation as well as heritage preservation.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister for Water Resources, Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz said the state is endowed with rich heritage and the preservation of the natural heritage which includes water bodies and forests needs more focussed attention as Kashmir is known more for its natural heritage than for the monumental assests.
Prof. Soz said for proper preservation of heritage a model law needs to be initiated for which opinion from the public and experts needs to be galvanized. He said on this proposal heritage conservation, top priority must be accorded for conservation of water bodies and announced that Rs. 12 crore would be utilised for restoration of the world famous Jehlum river to regain its past glory. He stressed for collective efforts to preserve heritage and said ecological councils, representatives from the respective fields and People’s ecological council need to be framed. He said monuments with heritage value like Khankhahi Moula, Jama Masjid ,Parihaspora, handicrafts like Khatamband and the cultural heritage with special ethos needs proper care for which a proposal for their conservation and preservation is on the anvil.
Prof. Soz hoped that a well conceived plan will be formulated by the state forest department for promoting the world famous Chinar. He said new master plan for Srinagar should be comprehensive enough and all land mass in and around the water bodies must be declared as eco-sensitive zone.
Minister for Forests Qazi Muhammad Afzal in his welcome note stressed need for preserving heritage, which includes language and culture. He said the efforts of the present generation in this regard are worth appreciating.
Honorary Secretary, Bombay Environmental Action Group Mr. Shyam H. K. Chainani delivered the keynote address. |
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