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A step to save heritage

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI DEC. 2. Concerned citizens, craftsmen and conservationists got together here today to discuss ways to save the country's common heritage. Bringing diverse groups on one platform for a public hearing, it was an attempt by the Friends of the Fort to make conservation a mainstream concern.

"This is only the first step in the long road ahead. It is an attempt to answer many questions people have raised about this issue. We have also mounted a photo-exhibition which gives people detailed information about the ongoing renovation at the Red Fort. The Fort is just a peg but the issues are much larger. Conservation is a subject which needs to be greatly understood. It only came into India in the 1990s through young conservationists. We want to inform the public so that it becomes part of a mainstream issue,'' stated Rajeev Sethi of the Friends of the Fort.

The Friends of the Fort plan to have many more such hearings so that people can start a dialogue on the issue. "We don't intend to stop at just one meeting. We have already got offers from people in the Walled City who want to translate the exhibition into Hindi so that the residents of the area will have more access to information in their language,'' he said.

Examining the issue from all aspects, the speakers included people from the field of architecture like eminent art historian Kapila Vatsyayan, faculty member of the Delhi School of Planning and Architecture, Nalini Thakur, senior conservationist A.G.K Menon, as well as legal experts. The Friends of the Fort seek to evolve a strategy of conservation that will uphold international conservation charters and respect the cultural context of Shahjahanabad.

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