Recently while reading an article titled “Making of a monumental crisis” in the Hindu, I felt the need to ask this question- “Should We Preserve Past Historical Buildings?” Most of historically and culturally important heritage sites all over the world are either destroyed or damaged. In fact, the historical monuments which are still present are suffering from the lack of preservation and regular maintenance. So here are my reasons that why and how to protect our past and if it will be of any significance to the future.
By historical buildings and sites, I mean those buildings, monuments, sites, or areas which are of historic, aesthetic, architectural or cultural significance to the area. Most of such buildings are capable of reuse and can be setup as an economically viable enterprise. But they are at the risk of extinction due to lack of care and regular maintenance by its owners. Also, non-cooperation from different bodies is the prime reason for their pathetic condition. The short supply of skilled human resources and lack of political will are causing the delay in their preservation.
Knowing the past is necessary to nurture the future. We are surrounded by our rich past in the form of physical remains of past. They are more than just material remains. It is the historic significance and integrity that make these properties worth preserving. Mere talking is of limited use unless everyone does their bit to conserve and preserve the heritage site. Foremost, it the duty and responsibility of the owners of these heritage buildings to protect them and carry out regular repairs and maintenance work.
The heritage sites or areas maintained by the government are the responsibilities of concerned authority to carry out repair and maintenance programs. The local residents should also participate in such programs. Involving local residents or citizens in archaeological responsibility will make them feel connected to the heritage of the country and may make preserving historical buildings and monuments a less thankless task. I referred this essay on the preservation of heritage buildings to present my viewpoint here. Feel free to contact me regarding this content.