Engineers to be trained in maintaining heritage structures

[sajiv]

Engineers to be trained in maintaining heritage structures

CHENNAI: Engineers employed by the State, especially civil engineers, will be trained in restoration of vegetable dye paintings, said Chief Secretary K.S. Sripathi, outlining steps to be taken by the government for maintaining heritage structures.

Funds were not a problem, he said. There was ample funding from the Centre, State, and philanthropists for conservation efforts.

Mr. Sripathi was speaking at the inauguration of a one-day workshop on 'Protecting monuments for posterity,' organised by the Tourism and Culture Department here on Tuesday.

The workshop was the first in a series to be held in various parts of the State, said V. Irai Anbu, Secretary, Tourism and Culture Department. For Tourism Day, the theme would be 'Creating awareness of protecting monuments.'

Quarrying near heritage structures would be kept on hold, said T.S. Sridhar, Principal Secretary and Commissioner, Department of Archaeology. Collectors had been told to inspect quarrying sites near heritage structures to ensure that no damage was caused to the structures. There were around 10 such sites in the State.

Citing Vittalapuram as an example of a successful public-private partnership to maintain heritage structures, Dr. Sridhar said that improvements to the site could be undertaken on joint basis; technical inputs would be provided by the department, and devotees and residents would maintain the structures.

An effort to copy 25,000 Tamil inscriptions was under way, Dr. Sridhar said. About 22,000 inscriptions had been copied and the transcripts would be published next year.

P.R. Shampath, Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, said that 30 donors had come forward to participate in the Puravalar scheme. By donating Rs.5 lakh, five members of the donor's family could get access to all temples under the department for 20 years.