Six Heritage Sites added to India’s UNESCO World Heritage sites Tentative List

The Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel recently announced that around six cultural heritage sites have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

What are the six sites?

The following six places have successfully entered the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

• Ganga Ghats of Varanasi
• Temples of Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu
• Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh
• Maharashtra Military Architecture
• Hire Benkal Megalithic site
• Bhedaghat Lametaghat of Narmada Valley in Madhya Pradesh

With this, the total number of sites in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Tentative list has increased to 48.

Background

The Archaeological Survey of India sent nine entries. Out of this, six have entered the tentative list. These proposed sites will remain in the tentative list for a year.

Ganga Ghats of Varanasi

The Ghats of Varanasi are the riverfront steps that lead to the banks of river Ganges. There are 88 ghats. Most of these ghats were built in the 18^th century when the city was under the rule of Marathas.

Satpura Tiger Reserve

It is located in Madhya Pradesh. The other major attractions of Satpura Tiger Reserve are Pandav Caves, Bee falls, Dhoopgarh Peak, Denwa Backwaters and rock paintings. The Denwa backwaters is the reservoir formed by the dam built on Denwa river.

Maharashtra Military Architecture

There are more than five hundred forts of various hybrid eras making Maharashtra one of the richest places in military architecture in the world. They were built between 1500 and 1800. During this period, the architecture conceived were largely military defensive architecture.

Hire Benkal Megalithic Site

It is located in Karnataka. Megalithic site is a large pre-historic stone that is used to construct a monument or structure. There are more than four hundred megalithic funerary monuments in Hire Benkal Megalithic site.

Bhedaghat Lametaghat of Narmada Valley

They are referred to Grand Canyon of India. One can experience the outstanding beauty of marble rocks and their glittering forms on the other side of Narmada river. Several dinosaur fossil fuels have been found here.

Here the Narmada river flows into a thirty-metre-deep gorge and flows between marble rocks. These marble rocks are formed by the metamorphic mechanism of limestone.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2021