Published By: Pragati Pal
Last Updated: October 08, 2023, 22:20 IST
Santiniketan is now a World Heritage Site as declared by UNESCO on September 17. (Image: News18)
In a letter to the President, Visva-Bharati Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty sought her assist for the return of the street on its campus in Santiniketan which was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site final month
Visva-Bharati authorities on Sunday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, looking for her intervention for the return of a street lined by heritage buildings on the central college’s campus from the West Bengal authorities.
In a letter to the President, Visva-Bharati Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty sought her assist for the return of the street on its campus in Santiniketan which was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site final month.
According to the Archeological Survey of India, if automobiles carrying heavy supplies are allowed to ply, the roadside buildings, that are multiple hundred years outdated, will probably be broken by the vibration of the motion of those automobiles, Chakrabarty claimed.
The three-km street, connecting Post Office More with Sriniketan, was taken over by the Public Works Department of the state authorities from the college in 2020 to facilitate higher connectivity.
The varsity has been demanding the return of the street to guard the heritage buildings lined alongside it. The letter was written to the President, who can be a Visitor of the central college, days after Visva Bharati authorities urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to think about its request for the return of the street to the establishment.
“We have made earnest requests to our chief minister to return the road to Visva Bharati by sending letters to her on September 25 and 30, 2023, although there is no reply,” Chakrabarty claimed. With the take-over of the street passing by means of the Asram by the PWD division, it has “become a source of nuisance”, he stated.
E-rickshaws parked on each side of the street make the motion of vacationers very tough, and distributors arrange their momentary retailers on the street which is adjoining to the Asram, the VC claimed.
“The place thus becomes noisy, crowded, unmanageable on most of the days when our museums are kept open for the tourists and the crisscrossing of vehicles (tractors etc.) on this road was a source of alarm since not only does it harm the buildings in Asram because of the resultant vibration harming the structures inside Asram but also causes panic to the tourists because some of the drivers are not sensitive to rules and regulations of road safety,” Chakrabarty stated within the letter.
Many earn their livelihood by driving e-rickshaws and likewise promoting souvenirs to the vacationers, the VC stated, including that there are rooms simply earlier than the start of the Asram space and e-rickshaw drivers and the native sellers used to function from that location when the street was saved beneath Vista-Bharati’s supervision.
“Visva-Bharati shall take ample care in sustaining the system that worked well so long as this road was managed by its staff. The purpose is to carry on with everybody because the Heritage declaration shall bring more tourists to the campus and it is our prime duty to protect these old buildings and Asram’s pristine environment,” the VC stated.
He additionally urged the President to “kindly intervene to support” the varsity’s endeavour to take again the street, which is able to allow it to “devise plans in consultation with conservationists for its perfect maintenance”.
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated news company feed – PTI)
Source: www.news18.com
