UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation

Context: The restoration of the Amar Singh College building has won the prestigious ‘Award of Merit’ in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation for the year 2020, the first such recognition for conservation work in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

• The college was established during the Dogra Maharaja era in 1911 in Srinagar, and its building was heavily damaged during the 2014 floods.
• The restoration of the Amar Singh College brought back one of the most prominent institutional buildings in Kashmir to its former glory.
• The project team’s meticulous attention to original building design and materials involved training a new generation of building artisans in brick and stone masonry.
• The project serves as a noteworthy model for safeguarding a unique 20th century architectural asset in the Victorian neighbourhood of the old city of Srinagar.
• The project was led by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Kashmir Chapter, with the support of the local government and a group of community stakeholders.
• Apart from its architecture, the building has beautiful wall murals in two of its hallways. “Influenced by the Ladakhi art, the murals formed a significant part of the building’s interiors.

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)

• It is a non-profit charitable organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• In 2007, the United Nations awarded INTACH a special consultative status with United Nations Economic and Social Council.
• Since 1984, INTACH has pioneered the conservation and protection of India's natural and cultural heritage and is today the largest membership organisation in the country dedicated to conservation.
• Today it has chapters in 170 Indian cities, as well as chapters in Belgium and the United Kingdom.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/restoration-work-on-amar-singh-college-building-in-srinagar-wins-unesco-award/article33362703.ece?homepage=true