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UN cultural agency Unesco declared the 600-year-old walled city of Ahmedabad as a world heritage city, the first Indian city to make it to the list.
Walled City
- Walled City of Ahmedabad, founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah in the 15th century, has been declared India’s first World Heritage City.
- The 5.5 km walled city area with an approximate population of four lakh, living in century old wooden residences in around 600 pols or neighbourhoods, is regarded as a living heritage.
- Walled city of Ahmedabad on the eastern banks of Sabarmati river presents a rich architectural heritage from the sultanate period, notably the Bhadra citadel, the walls and gates of the Fort city and numerous mosques and tombs, as well as important Hindu and Jain temples of later periods.
- There are 2600 heritage sites and over two dozen ASI protected monuments and sites in the walled city.
- The city had figured in UNESCO’s tentative list in 2011.
Significance
The civic body and the State authorities expect a huge boost to tourism after the UNESCO’s declaration. It has now joined the privileged club of heritage cities like Paris, Cairo, Edinburg and two cities in the subcontinent, Bhaktpur in Nepal and Galle in Sri Lanka.
Source : The Hindu
GS I : Indian Heritage and Culture