Jun 7, 2010, 09.23pm IST
VARANASI: Is the pristine beauty of majestic riverfront that attracts millions of visitors from different parts of the country and abroad under threat?
"Unless stringent measures are taken for its protection, there is a high probability that new structures, using new building materials, will increasingly replace old architectural shapes and material," said Rana PB Singh, professor of cultural Geography and heritage studies at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He has been working extensively to help in getting the scenic riverfront enlisted in the UNESCO's World Heritage List.
According to him, the 84 ghats cover a length of 6.8-km along the crescent shaped bank of the Ganga from the Asi-Ganga confluence in the south to Varuna-Ganga in the north. The riverfront has palatial buildings built mostly by kings and landlords from different parts of the country between 18th and 20th centuries. Besides, the ghats also have a number of shrines and temples. The riverfront is being in the process of getting enlisted in the UNESCO Heritage List of mixed cultural landscape.
"But, due to lack of public awareness and complex web of bureaucracy, there seems to be little hope for proper implementation of plans for the conservation of this heritage," he lamented and added the age-old traditions of Varanasi fulfil the criteria of UNESCO World Heritage Convention related to intangible cultural heritage. They include the traditions of ritual, folk music and songs, performing arts like traditional dance and theatrical performances on special festive occasions, social practices in celebrating festivals and events.
He believes that the conservation of most heritage properties faces intense pressure. Even if these properties are presently in the same physical condition as in the past couple of decades and their architectural characteristics are being maintained without many legal and administrative measures, their architectural integrity is now being threatened. In the name of development, old structures are being modified or demolished.
According to the Master Plan (1991-2011), all the heritage monuments will be protected by the laws and construction permits be issued as per the norm of the distance-regulation. "For the first time, heritage protection issues were discussed in this plan and heritage zones and sites have been identified," he said. The plan has been revised to implement the policy of preservation of heritage sites and development of the city in the context of environment and heritage protection.
According to him, two orders of the state government (order number 320/9-A-3-2000-127, dated February 5, 2000, and order number 840/9-A-3-2001, dated April 11, 2001) state that in all the towns situated along the Ganga, no development activities can take place 200-metre from the riverbank. It specifically prohibits new construction on the riverfront ghats unless these buildings are temples, mutts and ashramas (monasteries). The order goes on to say that all other old buildings within 200-m from the ghats can only be renovated.
The present situation along the riverfront clearly suggested that there was no vision for heritage conservation, he said and added in fact in the name of beautification and development, the ghats environs had turned out to be a more problematic area. The closing down of the old Asi confluence (shifted 500-metre in the south in 1981-82) and the pucca (stone-slab) construction of Asi and nearby ghats resulted to create a crucial problem of silt deposition. Lack of civic sense, public awareness and lack of knowledge of the ancient rich heritage resulted to several ugly constructions. The threatening impact of consumerism had resulted into loss of heritage buildings at dangerous limit, he added.
The heritage landscapes are subjected to illegal encroachment, unauthorised possession, unethical destruction and change in the basic structure. Land sharks are also active. They purchase the disputed properties and replace the structure. According to his survey, since the late 1990s, there has been a spate of illegal encroachments and opening of restaurants and guest houses, partial conversion of the houses into shops or paying guest houses, silk and handicrafts shops, and also transformation of heritage buildings for economic benefits along the ghats.
