Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: For the first time ever a country has got its three sites approved on the World Heritage List. Yes! And India happens to be the one. The much-awaited news came on Sunday, July 17 this year announcing that UNESCO listed Chandigarh's Capitol Complex and Sikkim's national park among its World Heritage Sites, approving all three nominations linked to India this session.
Interestingly, this came after the Nalanda University in Bihar made to the elite tag at the 40th session of The World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul.
The Culture Ministry official was quoted as saying, "This is the first time that any country got three sites inscribed in the Word Heritage List at a single session of the committee meeting". Capitol Complex, Chandigarh, Khangchendzonga National Park, Sikkim and Ruins of Nalanda University, Bihar have now been approved by the World Heritage Committee meeting.
Besides, these three the World Heritage Committee agreed to put 12 new sites on the World Heritage List before ending its 40th session in Turkey's Istanbul city. With nine others already approved on Friday, the session has placed a total of 21 out of 27 nominations for this year on the prestigious list, Xinhua news agency reported.
With the 21 newly added—12 cultural sites, six natural and three mixed ones—the heritage list has now 1,052 sites in 165 countries. The state of conservation of 155 properties was examined as well during the session, with five in Libya inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger along with one in Uzbekistan and another in Mali.
Meanwhile, one site in Georgia was removed from the list of endangered sites, while the site of Nan Madol, or the Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia, was simultaneously inscribed on the World Heritage List and on the List in Danger.
The 40th session started on July 10 and was cut short by four days due to the outbreak of a coup attempt in Turkey on Friday night. The heritage committee, a panel under the UNESCO, decided to discuss the unfinished items on the agenda at another meeting slated to be held in Paris later.
The 41st session is slated for July 2017 in Krakow, Poland. The heritage committee was formed in 1977 to enforce the World Heritage Convention and manage the heritage list created based on the convention.
(With Agency inputs)
