-Excerpt- Though the Taj Mahal in Agra has been carefully protected in recent years, many other sites in the city have disappeared under makeshift homes, bazaars and even rubbish heaps. These too will have to go, the ASI says.
Some, however, are pioneering a different approach. In Nizamuddin Basti, a poor Muslim neighbourhood in Delhi, specialists from the Agha Khan Development Network, an international private philanthropic NGO, have developed a “holistic” strategy that combines development and conservation.
Ratish Nanda, who oversees the restoration of the vast 16th-century tomb of the Mughal emperor Humayun, as well as dozens of other medieval shrines, said the goodwill of local people was essential. “Local people need to benefit from conservation. The community need to see buildings as assets, not burdens,” he said. In Nizamuddin, where 40,000 people exist in narrow lanes and tenements, school reading programmes, clinics and training schemes have been set up alongside the conservation projects. One aim, Nanda said, was to create “an example of what can be done” to inspire authorities in India to change their approach.
via Indian villagers’ homes threatened by heritage ruling | World news | guardian.co.uk.
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