Six Indian places added to tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Context

Six Indian sites, the Satpura Tiger Reserve, Iconic river front of the historic city of Varanasi, Megalithic site of Hire Benkal, Maratha Military Architecture in Maharashtra, Bhedaghat-Lametaghat in Narmada Valley- Jabalpur, and temples of Kanchipuram, have been added to the tentative list.

About the Newly added sites

• The submissions were made by Archaeological Survey of India, which is responsible for the conservation and preservation of Indian monuments.

The Satpura Tiger Reserve

• It is located in Madhya Pradesh.
• The Satpura National Park is home to 26 species of the Himalayan region including reptiles, and 42 species of Nilgiri areas.
• It is the largest tiger-occupied forest and also has the largest tiger population.
• The place has more than 50 rock shelters with paintings that are 1500 to 10,000 years old.

Ghats of Varanasi

• The Ganges riverfront of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
• Varanasi’s riverfront falls “into the second category of cultural properties, i.e: groups of buildings, groups of separate or connected buildings which, because of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the landscape are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science.”

Megalithic site of Hire Benkal

• It is the 2,800-years-old megalithic site of Hire Benkal.
• This Neolithic site is situated in Karnataka.
• The granite structures which are burial monuments are characteristics of this site.

Maratha Military Architecture in Maharashtra

• There are 12 forts in Maharashtra dating back to the era of the 17th-century Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji.
• They are namely Shivneri (the birthplace of Shivaji); Raigad (the capital fort rebuilt for the coronation of the Maratha king), Torna (the first fort of the Maratha empire), Rajgad, Salher-Mulher, Panhala, Pratapgad, Lohagad, Sindhudurg, Padmadurga (Kasa), Vijaydurg and Kolaba.

Bhedaghat-Lametaghat in Narmada Valley- Jabalpur

• It is an iconic site from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
• Bhedaghat is often referred to as the Grand Canyon of India.
• It is known for its marble rocks and their various morphological forms on either side of the Narmada river.
  • The magical marble mountains assume different colours and even shapes of animals.
• Several dinosaur fossils have been found in the Narmada valley, particularly in Bhedaghat-Lametghat area of Jabalpur.
  • In 1828, the first Dinosaur fossil was collected from Lameta Bed by William Sleeman.

Temples of Kanchipuram

• The temple town of Kanchipuramin Tamil Nadu, is dotted with ancient temples.
• It is situated on the banks of River Vegavathi.
• This historical city once had 1,000 temples, of which only 126 (108 Shaiva and 18 Vaishnava) now remain.
• Its rich legacy has been the endowment of the Pallava dynasty, which made the region its capital between the 6th and 7th centuries and lavished upon its architectural gems that are a fine example of Dravidian styles.