UNESCO tag for Mumbai buildings will encourage preservation of living heritage in India: Experts

The UNESCO recognition for Victorian Gothic and Art Deco buildings in Mumbai will set a "good precedent" and encourage other cities in India to also preserve their modern architectural legacy, according to experts.

They also opined that such old structures have largely been "overshadowed" by ancient or medieval heritage.

At the 42nd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC), currently underway in Bahrain capital Manama, 94 buildings primarily of 19th-century Victorian Gothic revival and early 20th-century Art Deco style of architecture, were yesterday included in the World Heritage List.

Mumbai-based conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah, who had prepared the voluminous nomination dossier, said, "The most wonderful thing is that the tag has been given to a living heritage of the city, and not just one building, but a whole cluster of it."
Mumbai-based conservation architect Vikas Dilawari, who had worked on the nomination dossier for Victoria Terminus, said, "The news filled me great happiness."