The Governor’s Administration has sought central government assistance to project Mughal gardens as World Heritage sites.The matter was discussed during a meeting between Advisor to Governor Khurshid Ahmad Ganai and Joint Secretary Ministry of Culture, Government of India, Nirupama Kotru.During the meeting, Ganai sought central governments’ assistance in preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) so that the same can be projected before world forum (UNESCO) to declare Mughal gardens including Shalimar, Nishat, Achabal Veerinag, the world heritage sites. The Joint secretary assured the Advisor that the central government will assist the state in preparing the DPR for the purpose.The government has also sought assistance for the opening of museums at Udhampur, Basohli, Pahalgam, Gurez and Kargil. During the meeting, the Advisor raised the issue of establishment of science city-cum-museum at Jammu and Srinagar. The Joint Secretary assured assistance from the centre provided the state government provides suitable land for the purpose. The Advisor also sought the support of Archaeological Survey of India in up-keep of the archeological sites in a better way.
During the meeting, the Joint secretary urged the state government to submit a detailed project report regarding digitization of the artifacts present at SPS Museum and Dogra Museum and perform RFID tagging to enable tracking of tagged artifacts that will help in ensuring their proper security.The meeting also discussed the government’s initiative to purchase artifacts from private persons so that the already existing museums can be made rich and sought assistance of the central government in this regard.The Advisor further informed the visiting dignitary that various initiatives are being taken by the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums for digitizing the artifacts which includes informative booklets, coffee table books, photo documentation and promotion of artifact on social media sites. He added that the department is regularly updating the official websites to promote and inform about the departmental activities.Commissioner Secretary, Culture, Mohammed Saleem Shishgar, Director Archives, Archaeology and Museum, Muneer-ul-Islam and other concerned officials accompanied the Joint Secretary during the meeting with the Advisor.