India

World Heritage status of Nalanda Mahavihara in danger!

Patna The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has asked the Bihar government to submit its plan for the conservation of Nalanda Mahavihara at the earliest so that the remains of the ancient education center can be given the status of a World Heritage Site.

Gautami Bhattacharya, superintendent archaeologist at ASI, Patna circle, said that if the integrated master plan takes more time to prepare and its compliance report is not submitted to the World Heritage Center (WHC) in Paris within the stipulated time, Nalanda Mahavihara may be at risk of being removed from the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List.

The WHC is the coordinator under UNESCO for all matters relating to World Heritage. Bhattacharya said that the commitment to preserve the Nalanda Mahavihara built at the time of inscription of this site in the UNESCO World Heritage List and submit an integrated master plan for the same should be respected. He claimed that the Nalanda district administration has not submitted the Integrated Master Plan to the ASI despite repeated reminders by the ASI in recent months.

Nalanda was an acclaimed Mahavihara which was a large Buddhist monastery in the ancient kingdom of Magadha in Bihar. This site is located about 95 km southeast of Patna. It was an educational center from the fifth century CE to 1200 CE.

The remains of Nalanda were inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2016. The ASI official said that non-submission of the Integrated Master Plan within the deadline may force the World Heritage Committee to take a negative approach. Bhattacharya said that if the WHC takes a negative view of a monument, it is placed on the endangered list, which automatically ends the World Heritage status. He said that it would be a very shameful situation for the country. To avoid such situations, I have been continuously writing letters to the District Magistrate of Nalanda to submit the Integrated Master Plan at the earliest.

The WHC meeting in this regard is likely to be held in the first week of December. Bhattacharya said that he had written the last letter to the District Magistrate on October 17. The same letter has also been sent to the Secretary, Art, Culture and Youth Department of the State Government and the Urban Development and Housing Department. Nalanda District Magistrate Shashank Shubhankar could not be reached for his comments despite repeated attempts. In this regard, the Secretary of the Department of Art, Culture and Youth, Bandana Prayashi could not be spoken to. (Language)

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