UNESCO team inspects Capitol Complex for granting heritage status

CHANDIGARH: Two members of the UNESCO team today inspected three buildings and four monuments located at the Captiol Complex, Chandigarh, for eight hours to prepare their report before viewing the presentation prepared by the Chandigarh Administration to give the city a heritage status.

UNESCO team member Dominic Galicia (second from right), along with other UT officials, at the Secretariat in Chandigarh on Saturday. A Tribune Photograph

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 3

Two members of the UNESCO team today inspected three buildings and four monuments located at the Captiol Complex, Chandigarh, for eight hours to prepare their report before viewing the presentation prepared by the Chandigarh Administration to give the city a heritage status.

UNESCO team member Dominic Galicia along with UT Chief Architect Kapil Setia and tourism officials reached Capitol Complex at 10 am and began the survey of buildings while Michael Richards joined the team at 1 pm to inspect the buildings.

To survey the Capitol Complex buildings which include the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Punjab and Haryana Secretariat and Punjab and Haryana Assembly along with monuments Open hand, Martyrs Memorial, Geometric Hill and Tower of Shadow. Both the members spent more than 45 minutes at each building.

The key parameter which the UNESCO team today discussed with the officials of the Administration while visiting all the buildings and monuments was about the policy for regular maintenance and monitoring of these buildings. A detailed plan for the structures has to be submitted to the team which will include regular treatment of the deterioration of concrete.

In fact, the Master Plan of the city was also reviewed by the team members to find out the plans of the Administration for the peripheral growth of the area of the Capitol Complex.

Sources in the Administration said that on Sunday a detailed presentation would be given to the UNESCO team on the heritage buildings prior to which the officials today checked the ground realities.The team will also visit the Le-Corbusier Centre located in Sector 19 after the presentation by the Administration.

Tourists keen on city’s heritage status

Interestingly, foreign tourists visiting the Capitol Complex have advocated in the visitor’s diary that UNESCO should give heritage status to the complex. They also mentioned that they were keen to see the complex on the global map.