INTACH demands heritage tag for Paralakhemundi railway station in Odisha

INTACH demands heritage tag for Paralakhemundi railway station in Odisha

Subject: History

Section: Art and Culture

Context:

The Odisha unit of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has demanded preservation and heritage status for the Paralakhemundi railway station in Odisha’s Gajapati district.

Paralakhemundi railway station:

• It belongs to East Coast Railway of Waltair division
• It is located in Gajapati district of Odisha
• It was established by Gajapati Maharaja of Paralakhemundi and it is first odisha Origin Railway station of Odisha state
• This line was the first Lite rail line of eastern India otherwise known as Parlakimedi Light Railway PLR
• The Mahendragiri Hills, which are biodiversity, heritage and pilgrimage site, have the nearest railhead at Paralakhemundi.
• The hills have some of the oldest temples of India which find reference in both the Ramayana and Mahabharata

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)

• INTACH was founded in 1984 in New Delhi
• It aims to create a membership organisation to stimulate and spearhead heritage awareness and conservation in India
• It is a non-profit charitable organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860
• The INTACH Logo, based on the anthropomorphic copper figure from Shahabad, Uttar Pradesh, belonging to the enigmatic Copper Hoards of the Ganga Valley

World Heritage Site

• It is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention (the protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage) administered by the UNESCO in 1972.
• They are designated by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance.
• The sites are judged to contain cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.
• There are 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India. Dholavira and Ramappa Temple are the latest addition to the list under the ‘Cultural Category’.