JAMMU, APRIL 19 (KNO) : Advocating proper preservation of heritage sites in the state, the Minister for Tourism Tassaduq Hussain Mufti today said that heritage informs about how people lived in past and encourage the coming generation to learn from their experiences and achievements.
“There is great need to preserve the legacy and heritage character of our state to enable the future generation to know their past and learn from it,” the Minister said while addressing a huge audience comprising students, civil society members and experts here at a seminar organized to mark International Day for Monuments and Sites.
The event “Heritage for Generations” was organized by Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society (MMJHS) in collaboration with International Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICICH) here at royal complex Mubarak Mandi. The aim of the seminar was to focus on inter-generational transfer of knowledge and youth leadership. The daylong seminar witnessed guest lectures and interactive sessions and provided an open platform to the experts, students and people from all walks of life to share their memories and experiences about the heritage sites including, Mubarak Mandi complex.
Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Priya Sethi was also present on the occasion. Reaffirming collaborated efforts to this end, the Tourism Minister said that besides concerned departments, civil society should also come forward to play decisive role in the preservation of the heritage sites in the state. The Minister said that government is taking concrete measures to restore the pristine glory of the Mubarak Mandi complex for which top experts have been engaged to complete the task in a phased manner. Tassaduq Mufti also stressed on taking innovative steps to preserve the relevance of our glorious past and pass it to the next the generation. In her address, the Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Priya Sethi lauded the organizers for holding such events with an aim to aware people about the importance of cultural heritage. She stressed on redoubling the efforts to protect and conserve heritage sites, to educated the next generations by sharing with them the glorious events of past and encourage them to preserve and promote the cultural and rich heritage of the state. Priya Sethi said that the coalition government has fast tracked the work in neglected areas and innovative measures are being taken to preserve and promote the rich heritage and cultural aesthetics of the state.
Later, the Ministers visited the courtyard complex and inspected the ongoing work. The Seminar also exhibited photographs to showcase the Jammu region in different lights and its rich art, culture and heritage. Besides, MLA East Rajesh Gupta, Executive Director MMJHS Sham Lal, Vice President ICOMOS ICICH Munish Pandit, members of MMJHS, ICICH and senior functionaries of the concerned departments were also present on the occasion. Dr Poonam Chaudhary, Dr Mrinalini Atrey, Tulika Rastogi, Hemani Badyal were the keynote speakers on the occasion.