Inclusion of Heritage in State Tourism Policy - Letter to Tourism Minister CT Ravi

Thursday, 3 September 2020

Shri CT Ravi

Hon Minister Tourism

Bangalore

Dear Sir:

Sub: Inclusion of Heritage in Tourism Policy

Greetings from Heritage Beku.

Thank you for all you are doing to promote the heritage of our beloved state. We know that this is an area close to your heart. The recent Town & Country Planning regulations passed also gives some solidity to the heritage framework and will certainly help preserve our state culture and heritage.

Given the recent alignment of Heritage shifting to the Tourism Department we have been delighted to interact and meet with our Tourism Secretary Mr. Anil Kumar and shared our perspectives on various issues last year. We hear the Tourism Policy is being worked on and fleshed out by you and your forward-thinking team. We have many suggestions and ideas and we humbly hope that we can also be included in your public consultation and outreach n tourism policy. We would be  very appreciative  if you could share with us the provisions of heritage under the draft tourism policy and any funds that have been allocated towards heritage tourism. We are sure that you have considered and prioritized heritage as it deserves. 

The following references to Heritage were made in your Karnataka Tourism. Policy 2015-20 , and while its actual progress and implementation need to be evaluated, further steps also need to be taken to promote and preserve heritage in the 2020-2025 Tourism Policy:

• · Encourage use of heritage buildings as hotels for providing accommodation facilities to tourists.

• · Heritage zones will be earmarked around the sites of Hampi, Pattadakal, Badami, Aihole, Bidar, Vijayapura, etc. and development will be supported in accordance with the master plans prepared for such locations.

• · Efforts would also be made to include more heritage sites into the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites for bringing in significant international recognition and tourist traffic into the State

• · Adoption/ management/ sponsorship programs in heritage zones would be supported to create ownership between locals/corporate for monuments, temples and destinations and to improve the maintenance of existing tourist destinations.

• · Rural tourism will be encouraged to showcase rural life, art, culture, cuisine and heritage at villages/ countryside and will provide opportunities for economic and social development of the local communities.

• · Development Rights for Heritage Buildings (DRHB) - Development of heritage buildings for tourism related activities shall be eligible for the award of development rights certificate from the local body concerned, as per prevailing development regulations and approvals. However, the private operator/ entrepreneur shall not use the Heritage Building for any other purpose other than the purpose for which it was granted the development rights certificate, for at least a period of 10 years from the date of issue of the certificate.

• · Tourist Interpretation Centre is a facility for dissemination of knowledge of natural or cultural heritage to tourists; it provides a visitor an interpretation of the place of interest through a variety of media, such as video displays and exhibitions of material.

• · Skill development courses for conducting heritage walks & nature trails; training for guides & tour operators;

• · Identify/map culture and heritage assets and prepare a plan for protection and management of the same.

• · Medium Term (3-5 Years) Design tour packages based on specific themes, preferably those that involve the geographical boundary and heritage of more than one State,

• · Tourism Cluster around Heritage to be developed : Hampi, Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal, Vijayapura, Kalaburgi, Bidar

As you are aware Heritage Beku is the premier citizen initiative on heritage in Bangalore and has taken great interest in city heritage , as well as had some significant impact on the space in Bangalore. Some of your initiatives especially the emphasis on cultural heritage via informal means at the taluk/panchayat level is remarkable and innovative. We would also request if we could be made a part of the heritage deliberations in other tourism initiatives for the city and state as well so as to be able to share some of our suggestions, inputs on the platform and showcasing of heritage of our beautiful city. 

I have already had the privilege of meeting with our Chief Secretary and Tourism Secretary with our team and I look forward to also meeting with our Hon Tourism Minister at the earliest.

We hope that we can add some value representing as we do Citizen initiative and public discussion.  We look forward to your response on this and to greater involvement and inclusion of #HeritageBeku in the Tourism department and policy.

Thanking You,

Your sincerely

Priya Chetty-Rajagopal

Founder, Heritage Beku

CC: Mr. Anil Kumar Jha, Principal Secretary, Tourism

CC: All Concerned

Closer Partnership with Railway Heritage in Bangalore

Thursday, September 3, 2020

Ms. Vinita Srivastava

Executive Director - Heritage

Ministry of Railways

New Delhi

Dear Vinita,

Subject: Closer partnership & dialogue with Railways Heritage on projects in Karnataka/Bengaluru

I know you must be well aware of this wonderful little re-creation of Malgudi days at the Arasalu Railway Station, but we at #HeritageBeku Citizen Initiative were delighted for multiple reasons - not just the connection to the quaint and innocent days of Malgudi which you have brought to life, but also on behalf of the many Railway aficionados in our group. As a fellow Chevening scholar I am especially proud of your initiative.

Kudos to the Heritage division of Indian Railways which has been spearheading many such initiatives in India, preserving a large part of a beloved travel heritage, recalling our many railway journeys to crisscross India in the most memorable way. We would be so happy to help communicate these more.

We were thinking aloud, and Heritage Beku would be delighted if we could share with you a list of small stations that could be looked at and showcased to memorize and preserve these wonderful moments of our past and the nostalgia that The Indian Railways has given us. There are many ideas – including some vintage stations in Nandi Hills and a couple of halts that remain vintage. We would be happy if you could have a word with the divisional head of Karnataka, introducing us and perhaps requesting some areas of connection, exchange and collaboration to jointly preserve our Railway heritage in Bangalore and the state of Karnataka.

Some of the railway experts in Heritage Beku or I would be happy to chat with you at your convenience to see what if any ideas we can take forward.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely,

Priya Chetty-Rajagopal

Founder- Heritage Beku

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Links

• https://www.doordarshannews.com/malgudi-museum-childhood-memories-come-to-life-as-karnataka-immortalises-rk-narayans-works/

• https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-train-will-now-stop-at-malgudi/article29341705.ece

• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysuru/malgudi-days-museum-opens-at-arasalu-rly-station/articleshow/77437771.cms

Climate change, heritage and Cubbon Park

"According to the Sustainable Development Goals India Index 2019-2020 prepared by NITI Aayog and UN India, for States and UTs, Karnataka achieved an overall rank of six, falling from a ranking of third in 2018. While its performance continued to showcase it as a forerunner state, its performance in terms of specific SDGs namely SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, was quite low placing it at number 18 out of 28 States.

SDG 11 seeks to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable and some of the key targets and indicators of SDG 11 include:

Target 11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage which are determined by indicators that gauge the total expenditure (public and private) per capita on preservation, protection and conservation of cultural and natural heritage be it of world, national, regional or local significance.

Target 11.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management. One of the indicators to measure the target included annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g. PM2.5 and PM10) in cities.

Target 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities. This is measured by the average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all.

If SDG 11 specifically in terms of Targets 11.4, 11.6 and 11.7 is examined in the case of Bangalore, it would score very poorly in terms of its performance indicators. For instance in terms of accessible, green, public spaces, Bangalore averages at 2.2 sq.m of open space per person, as per a survey undertaken by NGO Janaagraha, who point out that this figure is far lower than the recommended 10-12 sq.m set by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), India. Bangalore has unfortunately also earned the title of one of the most polluted cities in the world being ranked at number 39 in the World Pollution Index by City 2020 Mid-Year, thereby failing to reduce the adverse environmental impact of cities.

In terms of protecting, safeguarding and conserving heritage, Bangalore continues to face an uphill struggle, with infringements upon iconic historical landmarks. The introduction of vehicular traffic through one of the city’s most iconic open spaces – Cubbon Park has been one such demonstration of a lack of sensitivity to the city’s heritage. Not only does this represent a lack of understanding of the natural and cultural heritage value of the Park, but it also indicates a failure to recognise the critical function that the Park plays in the microclimate of the city.

It should be noted that there is an overall comprehension and acknowledgment of the heritage value of the Park and the many historical structures located within it, including 19th and early 20th century buildings namely Attara Kacheri, the State Archaeological Museum, and Seshadri Iyer Memorial Hall, and statues of and memorials to historically significant people. In fact, Cubbon Park has been identified as one of the precincts within the proposed Central Administrative Heritage Zone in the Draft Revised Master Plan for Bengaluru 2031. However, for such proposals to be effective a more nuanced engagement with the idea of the cultural significance of the Park in terms of clearly identified criterion of significance, needs to be undertaken. Such criterion could include those established by CPWD and INTACH which include historical significance, historical integrity and historical context in terms of ascertaining significance of architectural heritage. If an assessment of Cubbon Park’s cultural significance is considered in the context of these criterion, it would qualify to be listed as a heritage site. In terms of historical significance, it qualifies in terms of its association with events and activities that mark the establishment of Bengaluru. It is also associated with important persons such as Sri Chamaraja, Mark Cubbon and Seshadri Iyer; and is perhaps most recognisable as an integral feature of British town planning.

The historic integrity of Cubbon Park is relatively high in terms of the surviving physical characteristics including the overall layout of the Park, the existing historic buildings located within it, and equally importantly the views to and within the Park. Changing any of these characteristics could adversely impact the integrity of the site and in turn its overall significance. The historical context of the Park would also be severely impeded if changes made to and within the Park fail to acknowledge, reflect and capture the historic trends and patterns that accompanied the establishment, expansion and current situatedness of the Park in the larger context of the city of Bengaluru.

Recent schemes such as the proposal to construct a seven storey structure in the Park, and the allowance of the vehicular traffic through the Park, will prove to be detrimental to the historic setting and context of the Park. Such changes need to be assessed in terms of the impact these proposals will have on the overall heritage value of Cubbon Park, and for that an Heritage Impact Assessment needs to be undertaken that assess and establishes the significance of the Park, and ascertains the impacts any such proposals would have on its heritage significance."

~Dr Vidhu Gandhi, 

Associate Dean, School of Law, Environment and Planning, Coordinator UNESCO Chair, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology