Heading a team from School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi, associate professor and head of Department of Architectural Conservation, Anuradha Chaturvedi said they were looking at the carrying capacity of Dehradun and Mussoorie to save the valley from degradation. She said this during an interactive session between the State’s former chief secretary SK Das and students from the SPA at Natraj: The Green Bookshop.
Chaturvedi said that there is a need to look for a capital at a suitable place in the mountains which will take care of the migration problem, job opportunities and rapid over-all development of the state, particularly for those living in the mountains. This will surely bring people back to their roots, just as it has happened in the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh.
The team from SPA is on a visit to Dehradun to look at the multi-layered cultural landscape including sacred landscapes, cultural and pilgrimage routes linking numerous historic settlements, relict landscapes and historic urban landscapes associated with settlement typologies and modulated landscapes developed during the 19th and early 20th century. The team will focus on mainstreaming heritage management, sustainable conservation and development of cultural landscapes into government programmes.
Speaking on the occasion, Das shared his experience with the development agenda for the city and urged the team to focus on critical issues being faced by the current administration in making the city truly smart. He expressed the hope that with the younger generation taking interest, it will be possible to restore the city to its past glory.
The book “Sals of the Valley: A Memorial to Dehradun” by Pradeep Singh was also released on the occasion. The book is a tribute to the Sal forests that symbolise the strength and the permanence of the virtues of the Dehradun valley. They form the dramatic backdrop of the seven stories in this anthology. Singh, whose family has lived in Dehradun for over 300 years disclosed that he was in possession of a British document that certified Dehradun suitable to be made the Capital of India at one point.