Restoration of Mumbai's century-old museum wins UNESCO Asia-Pacific award
New Delhi (PTI): The restoration of the 100-year-old Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai has won a top award from UNESCO, with the jury hailing it as a project that "sets a standard" for the conservation of world heritage monuments.
The museum, part of the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai's world heritage property, has received the Award of Excellence in this year's UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation that were announced on Saturday.
UNESCO Bangkok, in a statement, said, "The jury applauded the museum project for restoring 'a major civic institution in the historic city of Mumbai'.
"The jury noted, 'impressive in its scale, the project addressed extensive deterioration through well-informed architectural and engineering solutions, overcoming major challenges during the pandemic'," it said.
The "heroic" restoration of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya has received the Award of Excellence in this year's UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, the statement said.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya was established as the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India in 1922.
Thirteen projects from six countries - Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal and Thailand - have been acknowledged for awards by an international jury in this year's awards programme.
Jury deliberations were carried out in November 2022 when members reviewed 50 entries from 11 countries from the Asia-Pacific region.
Besides, the Domakonda Fort of Telangana, and Byculla Station of Mumbai, are among the winners in the Award of Merit category, while the stepwells of Golconda in Hyderabad has won an award in the Award of Distinction category.
Topdara Stupa, Charikar, Afghanistan, and Nantian Buddhist Temple, Fujian, China, have also received the Award of Merit, the statement said.
"The awards give people a sense of pride and sense of ownership of their own heritage," Feng Jing, the Chief of the Culture Unit at UNESCO Bangkok, was quoted as saying in the statement.
Since 2000, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation programme has been recognising the efforts of private individuals and organisations in restoring, conserving, and transforming structures and buildings of heritage value in the region.
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Vinay Somaiah Suicide: BJP stages road blockade protest in Madikeri
Madikeri: The Kodagu district unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a road blockade protest in Madikeri on Thursday, demanding the immediate arrest of those allegedly responsible for the suicide of party worker Vinay Somaiah.
BJP leaders and workers assembled at General Thimmaiah Circle in the heart of the city, raising slogans against the Congress party and the state government. The protestors specifically demanded action against a Congress spokesperson mentioned in a note Vinay reportedly left before his death.
Addressing the gathering, former Assembly Speaker K.G. Bopaiah expressed strong dissatisfaction with the government and the police. He said the FIR against Vinay originally stayed by the court was later revived under a different section by the police. “Vinay had merely posted about the unhygienic condition of the Napoklu public toilet. Instead of addressing the issue, an FIR was filed against him. This is unacceptable. The police seem to be functioning under the directions of Congress MLAs, disregarding even court orders,” he stated.
District BJP President Napanda Ravi Kalappa also criticized the police, saying Vinay had no direct connection to the original post and was wrongly targeted. “An innocent man has lost his life. Two MLAs in Kodagu district are misusing police power to suppress dissent. The FIR was registered under political pressure,” he alleged, further demanding that the two MLAs resign and cooperate with the investigation into Vinay's death.
The protest led to a road blockade that lasted for over an hour, significantly affecting traffic. Despite requests from police officers to clear the area, BJP workers insisted on the arrival of the District Superintendent of Police (SP) to address their concerns.
SP K. Ramarajan later arrived at the protest site and informed the protesters that since the incident occurred in Bengaluru, the investigation was being conducted by the police there.
He assured full cooperation from the Kodagu police in the ongoing probe. Following his assurance, the BJP workers dispersed peacefully.
District BJP General Secretary Mahesh Jaini, SC Morcha District President P.M. Ravi, Women’s Wing President Anita Poovaiah, and other key party functionaries including Suvin Ganapathy, Jagadish, Arun Shetty, municipal council members, and BJP office-bearers from across the district were present on the occasion.
