The Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board is supporting DRONAH Foundation in association with UNESCO – New Delhi, INTACH -Punjab Chapter, ASI Chandigarh Circle, Department of Architecture – Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar and Chitkara University – Punjab Campus in celebrating Heritage Week in Punjab – Amritsar, Patiala and Chandigarh – between 19th to 24th of November with a number of activities lined up for each day.
The first leg of the Heritage Week was successfully kicked off in Amritsar on the 19th of November. The activities included a Heritage Walk, painting competition for school children and a panel discussion on ‘The state of Tourism and Heritage in Amritsar’ hosted by Department of Architecture, Guru Nanak Dev University. Shree Bakshi Ram Arora, Honourable Mayor, Amritsar was the chief guest on the occasion. He addressed the audience in the panel discussion, which raised some important issues related to heritage and tourism in the Amritsar.
The heritage walk led by Punjab Tourism guides took students from colleges around the built structures of the city while school children participated in a painting competition on the theme culture and Heritage and Punjab
The talk on ‘The State of Heritage and Tourism’ in Amritsar was opened with a welcome address by Architect Meenakshi Singhal, Head of Architecture Department, Guru Nanak Dev University. For the panel discussion, Shikha Jain, Chairperson DRONAH Foundation opened the discussion with an overview of heritage conservation work going on in Punjab and the importance of continuous partnerships required to position Punjab in the heritage tourism scene. Balwinder Singh of Guru Ramdas School of Planning, GNDU made presentation on the potential tourism circuits in Punjab and the need to develop them. Honourable Mayor, Shree Bakshi Singh Arora talked about the on-going projects in the city and the practical measures that are aimed at bringing Amritsar as a great tourism destination. Another panelist, Sukhdev Singh, INTACH Convenor, Punjab Chapter asserted the need to make the people aware of our heritage. Professor Sarabjot Behl, Senior Faculty, Department of Architecture, summarized the entire discussion by pointing out how the economic sustainability of heritage can be sustained by tourism and the importance of public-private partnership to preserve and protect our heritage. He also very poignantly highlighted on the need to bring together the intangible and tangible parts of heritage and the importance of going beyond the built form while talking of heritage.
The discussion was quite fruitful in raising the debate that exists between heritage and tourism and how the two should be brought together for sustainable economic development of Amritsar.
