GUWAHATI:
Aswini Kumar Sarma
, regional coordinator and secretary general of Unesco Association, Assam, on Monday said it was crucial to preserve the satras of Majuli for the island to get the coveted World Heritage Site tag.
The river island was put on the tentative list in 2004 during a World Heritage Committee Session at Suzhou in China.
In reply to a query by TOI, Sarma said most of the Vaishnavite monasteries in Majuli had started modern construction using cement, iron rods, hollow pipes, bricks, glazed ceramic, vitrified tiles and so on.
"If a heritage structure is revamped with pucca construction, it doesn't retain its charm. Heritage structures cannot be damaged with RCC work," Sarma said.
The Unesco representative in the state said the damage could not be undone and the focus now should be on preserving the remaining structures with appropriate conservation methods.
The rampant use of modern construction material in some of the satras in Majuli was a major headache for the Guwahati Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 2014. On 24 March of that year, the superintending archaeologist wrote to the ASI's regional director (east) noting how 'very few evidence of the original satra or satra life remained in Majuli'. The letter also said almost all the satras had taken up 'modern construction' work with or without government grants and had become like any other temple or naam ghar.
Sarma, also the secretary general of the
United Nations Association, Assam, said the government should conduct awareness programmes on the need for heritage conservation involving stakeholders and locals. "The satradhikars should be brought into confidence. Awareness is the only tool we have," he added.
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