Mumbai’s Victorian Gothic System inscribed as UNESCO's World Heritage list Maharashtra's sole state, for including most heritage sites

New Delhi, 30: Mumbai’s Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles has been inscribed as UNESCO’s World Heritage Site. The 19th and 20th century old Buildings in South Mumbai have been included in the list of World Heritage Sites today.

The 42nd Conference of the World Heritage Council of UNESCO is presently going on at Manama in Bahrain. This was announced at the UNESCO World Herigte Site Committee’s Chairman, Shaikha Haya Rashid Al Khalifa on Saturday.

                         The heritage site is the sixth place in the world

Al-Ahsa Oasis, an evolving Cultural Landscape in Saudi Arabia, along with these architectural structures of Maharashtra, has also been included in the UNESCO heritage list. This magnificent landmark has historic buildings, gardens, bunds, greenery and wells. This ancient city of Qalhat in Oman is also inscribed in the UNESCO world heritage site. It is in the 11th and 15th centuries, the city was developed as an important port, with many fine examples of architectural styles. Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki area of ​​Japan, Buddhist Mountains of Sansa in the Republic of Korea, Sasian Purvata Bhoomi in the Farce Mountain ranges in Iran and 16th Century Thimlich Ohinga, located in the northeast part of the city of Migori in Western Kenya, have been inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The most heritage site in Maharashtra; India ranked 7th in the world

Mumbai, having become a global trading centre, the city of Mumbai implemented an ambitious urban planning project in the second half of the 19^th century. It led to the construction of ensembles of public buildings bordering the Oval Maidan open space, first in the Victorian Neo-Gothic style and then, in the early 20^th century, in the Art Deco idiom. The Victorian ensemble includes Indian elements suited to the climate, including balconies and verandas. The Art Deco edifices, with their cinemas and residential buildings, blend Indian design with Art Deco imagery, creating a unique style that has been described as Indo-Deco. These two ensembles bear testimony to the phases of modernization that Mumbai has undergone in the course of the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

The announcement of UNESCO will now include the fifth World Heritage Site in the state, and Maharashtra is the only state having country's most heritage sites. Earlier, the Ajanta Caves, Elephanta Caves, Ellora Caves and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus buildings in the state have been inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage Site will include the 37th place in the country's list of the World Heritage Site, and India will be ranked 7th in the world with the highest number of heritage sites.

                Sincere Efforts by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

Its not only Mumbai, but the whole State of Maharashtra is feeling proud of UNESCO’s decision. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis encouraged the government machinery and social organizations working in South Mumbai area to get Victorian Gothic method of architectural and artistic structures as World heritage sites. Under the guidance of Fadnavis, the state government had organized its role in the UNESCO Conference.

                                            About this historic architecture

There are 19th Century Victorian architectural style buildings and 20th Century Art Deco style buildings in the Marine Drive and Fort area of ​​South Mumbai. The buildings are mainly buildings of High Court, Mumbai University, Old Secretariat, National Museum of Modern Art, Elphiston College, David Sasoon Library, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Museum, Western Railway Headquarters, Maharashtra Police Headquarters, Oval Maidan, Victorian architectural buildings. Apart from this, the names of the cricket club of India, the first line of the backbeaker, the Ram Mahal on Dinshaw Wacha Road, the Eros and the Regal Cinema Hall and the first line building in Marine Drive are included in the list of World Heritage Sites. The panel of UNESCO's Technical Consultative Committee, the International Council for Monuments and Sites, sent the nomination letter to the state government. In it, the green flag was displayed in the list of World Heritage Sites including the Mumbai area.

The State Government sent this proposal to the Centre was sent by the state

The state government had sent proposals to the Union Ministry of Culture to include this area in the list of World Heritage Sites. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made special efforts and with his personal intervention pursued the Central Government for the official proposal to go for official proposal of Victorian and Art Deco architectural buildings in Mumbai. Shri Fadnavis said in a letter to the Central Government that due to this ranking, the tourism and cultural sector of Mumbai will be of great benefit and this will help Mumbai's position in the global tourism map. Many businessmen from London and European cities will be attracted to Mumbai.

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