Punjab govt to formulate policy on heritage

Putting a Rs 100 crore culture preservation plan on fast track, Punjab government has signed an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with UNESCO to prepare an appropriate and specialized policy for preserving the state's culture and heritage.
Stating this here today, a spokesman of the department of Cultural Affairs said, Punjab had chosen the professional model to preserve the state's cultural heritage since the state was rich in tangible and intangible cultural heritage ranging from archaeological remains of the 5,000 year old Indus Valley civilization to planning and construction of Chandigarh.
Heritage of the state displayed rich evidence of being a thriving and much sought about gateway to the subcontinent and a key stop along important trade routes such as linkages to the Silk Road and later the Grand Trunk Road; encompassing not only tangible assets of archaeology and architecture, but a rich philosophy, poetry, spirituality, crafts, artistry, music, cuisine and multifold traditions, he said.

The department of Culture, Archaeology and Museum had taken an initiative to develop a State Cultural Heritage Policy in order to use the Rs 100 crore fund in helping and improving institutional, legal and other frameworks for better preservation, management and sustainable use of cultural heritage, he said.
In the first phase, focus would be on preservation of monuments and museums identified by UNESCO, the spokesman said.
He said the archival heritage had been identified as a major strength of the state government and efforts were also being made to preserve and conserve these by adopting modern and scientific techniques.