Mumbai: The efforts of the state government and heritage conservationists to gain global recognition for Mumbai’s iconic Victorian Gothic and Art Deco buildings have borne fruit as these structures have finally made it to the prestigious United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNES-CO) World Heritage List.
The buildings, some of which date as far back as the 19th century, are located at Fort precinct and along Marine Drive in south Mumbai.
The announcement was made at the 42nd meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Manama, Bahrain, on Friday and comes in the wake of a positive recommendation by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the technical advisory body to UNESCO.
With this development, Maharashtra is now the only state in the country to boast of the maximum UNESCO world heritage sites. Earlier, the Ajanta and Ellora caves in Aurangabad district and Mumbai’s Elephanta caves and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Termi-nus were included in the World Heritage List.
Vikas Dilwari, a Mumbai-based conservation architect, said it is a matter of pride and happiness that the buildings have received heritage recognition. “It’s a positive step and will help bring more awareness about such heritage structures. The government authorities will now be more responsible and protective towards these buildings,” said Mr Dilwari.
Among the buildings that have received the UNESCO tag are the Bombay high court, the University of Mumbai campus, Eros and Regal cinema halls and the David Sassoon Library, apart from several University of Mumbai campus, Eros and Regal cinema halls and David Sassoon Library, apart from several residential buildings.
Pankaj Joshi, executive director of the Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), termed the tag a welcome step. “It will trigger the economy and help local tourism thrive. With this inclusion, we expect the state to form a proactive policy towards these buildings,” said Mr Joshi.
Atul Kumar, founder of Art Deco Mumbai, a ‘digital architectural repository of India’s financial and movie capital’, said, “It is a landmark moment for the city’s architectural landscape. It will preserve spectacularly-built heritage for generations to come.”
