“Use of World Heritage Sites for commercial activities”
India has a huge number of heritage sites which are opportunities to attract a large number of Indians as well as foreign tourists thereby providing more revenue to our country.
I would like each one of you to look back and think for a moment, when was the last time you visited this legendary monument “The Qutub Minar”. I am sure; most of us would have passed by the road nearby an umpteen number of times, thinking to visit it someday. This is the story of most of us.
With our rich culture which fascinates the world we can improve the unexplored mysteries of these locations by inviting public at large during some meaningful cultural events.
If the world heritage sites are used for cultural activities these sites can be kept clean and maintained as many guests will be regularly visiting these events. Part of the funds raised during these events can be used for proper maintenance and upkeep of these sites. This includes a lot of care on an ongoing basis like cleaning of washrooms, painting of surrounding walls and maintenance of the lawns and gardens. Currently most of the identified sites in India need urgent attention and this is due to ignorance and casual approach of assigned authorities in the past. In many of these cases these monuments are in danger of falling into ruins.
These events have the potential to generate massive employment in our country as a lot of people are required to take up variety of jobs like catering, cleaning, spotlight and artists for stage decoration etc. Only when the people are encouraged to visit these sites will the organizing bodies of these shows plan for provisions like washrooms and drinking water.
These heritage sites, as venues for the shows, will provide people an opportunity to visit, enjoy and attain more knowledge about the rich culture of our ancestors and the society we live in.
Few may have an opinion that if the guests are frequently visiting these places they will make the place dirty and would spoil the original beauty of the place. But infact with the help of part of the money collected from the tickets and the organizing sponsors, cleanliness can be maintained in the premises very easily.
It is normal to think that while these shows are conducted inside the premises, loud music and multiple dance steps by dancers and other performers may degrade the building structures during these shows. For this, I would suggest that the primary premises should be secured and managed, and the surrounding premises nearby, like the gardens can be the venues for these events.
With this innovative arrangement the land used for auditoriums and stages for shows can be used for other important purposes. Considering that the land in every city is in high demand across the world. This noble idea can improve the land’s infrastructure which can be used for schools to encourage education in our state which is in a dismal state right now.
I hope I was able to relate with you and my views can make a big difference to our approach and to our soon to be extinct Heritage Sites.