Click to play videoNew Delhi: Last week, CNN-IBN reported [Read Report] how the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is planning 60-foot deep four-storey basement parking area dangerously close to Jama Masjid, the construction of which will damage the foundations of the historic mosque.
Concerned about the safety of the historical site, the threat has got UNESCO sounding the alarm bells. The body has shot off a letter to the Delhi government.
“We will be inquiring from the Delhi government on what it plans to do for the area,” says UNESCO’s India head, Minja Yang.
Even though Jama Masjid is not a World Heritage site - and therefore does not fall under UNESCO's jurisdiction – the body’s intervention only shows how seriously threatening MCD's plans are.
For UNESCO, it is a case of losing out heritage for the sake of development.
“Old Delhi and New Delhi are unique capitals known all over the world. Jama Masjid and Shajahanabad need to be preserved even as we want the commercial aspects of the area to be taken care of,” says Yang.
MCD's Rs 1,200-crore redevelopment plan has experts believe that vibrations from the digging could damage the Jama Masjid foundations permanently.
The basement with 600 shops and a three-tier parking area to accommodate 9,000 vehicles has been planned without a structural and heritage impact assessment. .
“The government needs to do a impact assessment. And such a project should never be done without a proper impact assessment,'' says Yang.
The UNESCO has not only offered to help out MCD in preserving Jama Masjid but has also reminded the state government that India is a permanent member of UNESCO's executive board and it needs to stick to the prescribed guidelines for safeguarding historic areas.
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