Santiniketan , The Asrama area of Santiniketan, a UNESCO heritage site, will be made accessible to the general public in the near future in a controlled manner, a Visva-Bharati official said on Saturday.
The official said that as per instructions of the newly appointed vice-chancellor's office here, the reopening of the Asrama area of Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan will happen only after the proper modus operandi of such access is finalised, i.e, on which days of the week the area will be made accessible, in what numbers, in what format, etc.
"The area will be made accessible to the general public in the near future, though in a strictly controlled manner," the Visva-Bharati official said in a press statement.
Access to the Asrama area in Santiniketan for the general public was stopped on March 13, 2020, owing to the onset of the Covid pandemic.
It had not been reopened to the general public despite such demands from a section of people.
Pointing to the world heritage status endowed upon Santiniketan by UNESCO, the official said that while the strict procedures of conservation of heritage is required to be adhered to, the Visva-Bharati authority is also "cognisant of the need of the people of this country and the world to be able to visit and take part in the living heritage that is Santiniketan."
{{/usCountry}}Pointing to the world heritage status endowed upon Santiniketan by UNESCO, the official said that while the strict procedures of conservation of heritage is required to be adhered to, the Visva-Bharati authority is also "cognisant of the need of the people of this country and the world to be able to visit and take part in the living heritage that is Santiniketan."
{{/usCountry}}He said that the university is in the process of formulating the procedure to strike a feasible balance between heritage conservation and tourist access.
The decision to reopen the Asrama area of Santiniketan came soon after Probir Kumar Ghosh took charge as Vice Chancellor of Visva-Bharati earlier this week.
The statement said that Ghosh is in the process of expediting the process of making the Asrama area accessible to the general public.
It clarified that only one part of the heritage area remains closed to public access while the Uttarayan complex, housing the Rabindra Bhavana, the residences of Rabindranath Tagore, and a wide range of art, architecture and sculpture, remains fully accessible to the general public on all days of the week, except Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The university also selectively grants access to educational institutions, research institutions and other similar bodies to the Asrama area, the statement said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.