‘We need to highlight our lesser known monuments’

AGRA: The two-day National Conference of Architects’ Association of Agra ended on Sunday with speakers laying stress on promoting the lesser known monuments of the city. They suggested that information on these ‘neglected monuments’ be made available on an app for the purpose.

Divya Gupta of the Indian Cultural Fund said, “We should not neglect our rich heritage in this race for development. We need to highlight our lesser known monuments and also create libraries and museums there in order to increase footfall. Cultural events can be organised at these structures such as food festivals, craft fairs, music concerts, etc to attract tourists.”

During the panel discussion ‘Re-thinking Heritage Structures’, panellist Ankit Kumar urged local residents to visit the lesser known monuments. Former president of the Agra Architects’ Association, Sameer Bibhab, said, “Agra has a treasure of heritage monuments but there are several restrictions too. The city falls in the Taj Trapezium Zone and guidelines issued by the Supreme Court have to be followed, especially with regards to pollution. This has slowed down the industrial growth here. The need of the hour is to identify the exact reasons for the increasing pollution.” In another session on ‘Future of Indian Urban Construction Techniques’, panellists laid emphasis on “rational selection of raw materials for construction”. Architect Sanjay Prakash advocated thatched construction. An exhibition organised as part of the conference attracted many visitors on Sunday.