Hampi removed from UNESCO's danger list

New Delhi, Aug 1: The world famous Hampi site has been removed from the UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger by the World Heritage Committee, which considered the issue at its July 8-16 session at Vilnius, Lithuania, the government said today.

Since its inscription in the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in Danger in 1999, several missions of the UN body had visted the site and suggested corrective measures, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni told the Rajya Sabha.

In a written reply, Ms Soni said Hampi was included in the list due to construction of two bridges across the Tungbhadra river, which threatened the ''integrity'' of the site.

A number of UNESCO missions, which visited the site since then, charted out some prescriptive measures, which were implemented by the Central and state governments.

The corrective measures undertaken include dismantling of the pylons of the foot bridge, construction of a bypass road to divert heavy traffic from the heritage area and enforcement of traffic regulations and removal of encroachments.

The minister said a legislation had also been enacted for management of the Hampi Heritage Site, constitution of the Hampi Heritage Area Management Authority and formulation of a site management plan.

The corrective measures implemented were reported to the World Heritage Committee, which considered the issue at its 30th session in Vilnius. The committee then removed Hampi from the list, she added.

UNI