Heritage management plan proposed for Whitefield

Heritage management plan proposed for Whitefield

Staff Reporter
It is an Anglo-Indian settlement with a history of 125 years
— FILE PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR

RETAINING OLD WORLD CHARM:Memorial Church at Whitefield who was constructed out of the funds collected by the local Anglo-Indian community in 1886.
Bangalore: A heritage management plan will be prepared for Whitefield village. This was decided at the dialogue and consultation organised by the Bangalore Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in partnership with residents of Whitefield on the issue of heritage loss in Bangalore on Thursday. The meeting, held at Whitefield, was attended by a large number of people, including residents, former bureaucrats, experts, non-governmental organisations and so on.

INTACH chairman Major General L.K. Gupta spoke about the need for a law to protect heritage. The meeting decided to put together a small group comprising INTACH, Save Whitefield and technical experts who would work towards a heritage management plan for Whitefield. The heritage management plan was intended to address the infrastructure needs of historic settlements without affecting its heritage.

Whitefield residents spoke passionately against unplanned developments, declaring that heritage was inherent part of their lives.

Glen Lunel, who has lived in Whitefield for 36 years, said that they “live by heritage”.

Krupa Rajangam, conservation architect, showed through her research that Whitefield was a century old Anglo-Indian settlement and not merely a software park as generally perceived.

Paul Trouilloid, a town planner and conservation architect from France, talked about how planners in Paris had realised in the 1970s that road widening only brought in more traffic and had since stopped widening roads in historic areas.

Raghunandan, former Secretary, Government of Karnataka, called for active citizenship and need to work towards a civic society.