SRINAGAR: Heritage College, also known as Amar Singh College, in Srinagar has been awarded for cultural heritage protection by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Asia-Pacific in 2020.
According to a statement issued by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), J&K chapter, “Project entries were diverse in scope and typology and were submitted from nine countries across the Asia-Pacific region. The jury consisting of nine international conservation experts was convened from 20th to 22nd November 2020 to deliberate the project entries.”
“This year the jury awarded two special recognition for sustainable development, one award of Excellence, one award of distinction, three awards of merit, and one award for new Design in Heritage Contexts,” the statement further said.
It is in place to mention that INTACH Kashmir Chapter with the help of the J&K government did the restoration project of Amar Singh College.
“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 INTACH statement said.
It was because of the damage caused to this heritage building by the 2014 floods, and also the 2005 earthquake that INTACH decided to preserve this building and repair the damage without touching its heritage value.
“The ornamental gauged bricks used in the building are handmade ‘rubber’ bricks and therefore very soft and predisposed to erosion and defacement. One of the challenges was to train the craftsmen to restore these ornamental bricks and to prepare new bricks to fill in the missing ones in the walls,” INTACH said.