K'taka: Create facilities near heritage sites

Bangalore, Aug 31: To raise sufficient funds for maintenance of monuments and heritage sites, the state and local governments should create facilities for the middle class tourists at such spots, Indian Buildings Congress Director General SA Chakrabarti said today.

Speaking at a Seminar organised by the IBC on 'Rehabilitation and Conservation of Heritage Sites' here, he said common tourists always lacked facilities at heritage sites and tourist spots and creation of such a facility will be a win situation for both tourists and the state government departments maintaining the monuments.

"Rich tourists always find accommodation as they are ready to pay for it. However common people suffer from lack of such a facility at heritage sites. This is one reason how we have failed to attract large number of tourists to majority of such sites. If we work towards creating facilities to this class, it will lead to increase in the income of tourist departments," he said.

Orissa, Bihar and UP government had begun working in this direction and others can take lead. Using private homes in the vicinity of heritage sites and monuments for tourist use offered great potential for the tourism industry, he added.

Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur, who inaugurated the seminar, said Karnataka was considered as the cradle of historical places and needed better efforts to conserve them. "Make use of the youth to conserve heritage sites by creating awareness in schools and forming of heritage and cultural clubs. Partnership of youth will help a long way in maintaining and popularising heritage sites and monuments," he said.

Karnataka Tourism Department Secretary I M Vittala Murthy said the state department of archaeology and museums had protected about 750 monuments in the state. However there were still 25,000 unprotected monuments which needed attention, he said.

The state had two World heritage sites in Hampi and Pattadakal and at least three more -- Bijapur, Halebid and Shravanabelagola deserved the tag. The government had declared Bidar, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Kittur, Mysore and Srirangapatna as heritage sites and taken steps to develop them.

The problem of maintaining and developing heritage sites was mainly faced from shortage of funds and trained staff. Raid urbanisation was causing destruction of monuments and there was a need to bring in special legislation as existing laws were not effective, he felt.

He called upon zonal regulations under Town and country planning Act to help restrict unwanted developments around the monuments.

UNI