Sir,
This has reference to the editorial ‘Implementation Conservation Act’ (DE, April 21, 2017). It is a fact that the rulers who ruled our state had great passion for architecture, literature and other arts with the result that our state has a treasure of innumerable symbols of heritage such as monuments, sculptures, paintings, handicrafts, manuscripts, forts, temples etc, which speak a lot about our rich culture and heritage. They are the symbols of our history and they denote our link in the present with the past. In fact, every historical site that our ancestors have created has a story to tell about their hardwork, courage and vision. Our Dogra rulers not only added many such monuments to the state but also strived hard to preserve as to what was bequethed to them by their predecessors. Now the million dollar question is how to preserve them for the posterity.Though the State Legislature passed the Jammu & Kashmir Heritage Conservation & Preservation Act way back in 2010 and even created J&K Preservation and Conservation Authority, not much has been done in this regard so far.The need of the hour, therefore, is to take effective steps to preserve and conserve our priceless heritage such as monuments, forts, ponds, bowlis, manuscripts etc.otherwise many items of this valuable heritage may be destroyed in the course of time causing irreperable loss and our next generations may not be so lucky to view them.These monuments or their remains may also be lost due to the construction of dwelling or industrial units near them. Similarly other items of our cultural heritage such as folklores, folkdances, folksongs etc should also be promoted to give our young generation a glimpse as to how rich and glorious our culture is. Preservation of our heritage is not the sole responsibility of the government.We, on our part, too can contribute a lot to create awareness in the masses to take care of our priceless heritage and not to spread litter or pollution near the historical monuments and preserve them. Moreover, small groups can be formed to adopt the nearest historical monument to ensure that no damage is done to it in any way.
Yours etc…
Ankita Sharma
Udhampur
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