STATE TIMES NEWS
New Delhi: India is gearing up to host the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee scheduled to be held in the country for the first time from July 21-31, with sources saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may inaugurate the key event.
Ahead of the session, the government recently launched a public art project with works themed on India’s cultural legacy and the country’s UNESCO heritage sites among others.
In sync with the proposed 46th World Heritage Committee meeting, some of the artwork and sculptures will draw inspiration from world heritage sites such as Bimbetka and the natural world heritage sites in India and accord them a special place in the proposed artworks, officials said. The 46th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) is scheduled to be held here, the first time in India, between July 21-31 at Bharat Mandapam.
Sources said Prime Minister Modi may inaugurate the event on July 21. However, there is no official word on it yet.
The number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India grew to 42 with the ‘Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala’ finding a place in the coveted list last September, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had said.
These sites include 34 in the cultural category, seven in the natural category and one mixed property.
They include the Red Fort, Humayun Tomb and Qutab Minar in Delhi, Taj Mahal in Agra, ancient Nalanda university ruins and the Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar, Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas in Karnataka and Santiniketan in West Bengal.
Currently, India has the sixth largest number of (UNESCO) sites in the world. The countries that have 42 or more world heritage sites are Italy, Spain, Germany, China and France, the ASI said in an earlier statement.
