After rock-cut relief sculptures of Tripura’s Unakoti featured in the tentative list of UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites, Chief Minister Manik Saha on Wednesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his initiative in this regard.
Saha also praised Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy for his role that helped the place with ‘Shaivite rock’ sculptures in the northeastern state get its name added to the coveted list. The UNESCO website describes a tentative list as an "inventory of those properties which each State Party intends to consider for nomination".
“Happy to share that Rock-cut Sculptures and Reliefs of Unakoti in Tripura made it to the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Unakoti, known as an ancient holy place associated with Shiva worship, is famous for its colossal rock cut panels depicting Hindu deities,” Saha said in a Facebook post.
Nestled in the Raghunandan hills, about 180 km from here, Unakoti is home to giant bas-relief sculptures of the 8-9th century carved out of a huge hill. “On behalf of the people of Tripura, I wholeheartedly thank Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji and Hon’ble Union Minister for Tourism Shri G Kishan Reddy ji for approaching UNESCO to declare Unakoti as a World Heritage Site,” the chief minister said in the post.
Tourism Minister Pranajit Singha Roy also expressed happiness that Unakoti, which means one less than a crore (koti in Bengali) is now in that list. “Unakoti’s nomination for UNESCO’s tentative list is a big thing for the people of Tripura. It will be the biggest achievement for the country's monument conservation if Unakoti gets the World Heritage tag,” ASI’s Assistant Conservation Assistant, Biltu Debnath, told PTI.
The ASI, Aizwal Circle, has been relentlessly trying to get Unakoti included in UNESCO’s tentative list for World Heritage Sites for long, he said adding that it has finally paid off. Three new cultural sites in India - iconic Sun Temple at Modhera, historic Vadnagar town in Gujarat and Unakoti - have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites, the ASI said on Tuesday.
