NEW DELHI: The historic Red Fort on Friday acquired the status of World Heritage Site when UNESCO formally handed over the certificate of inscription at a ceremony held within the lawns of the Diwan-I-Khas inside the fort.

UNESCO director general Koichiro Matsuura handed over the certificate to Secretary (Culture) Abhijit Sengupta and unveiled the plaque inscribing the fort complex on World Heritage List.

Red Fort becomes the 27 Indian site to receive world heritage status. Till now India had five natural sites and 21 cultural sites on heritage list and Red Fort has become 22nd cultural sites to acquire that status.

In Delhi it is third world heritage site, after Qutub Minar and Hamayun Tomb.

Congratulating Indian government for its "untiring efforts to preserve the country's exceptional heritage," Matsuura said India has "already provided an encouraging evidence of the principle of sustainable conservation."

Matsuura noted that India had made serious efforts to preserve its culture and heritage especially by establishing national monuments and documentation mission and by evolved laws and policies to conserve the heritage.

Sengupta said the fort symbolised the events critical to shaping the identity of the Indians.

He observed the fort was proposed as World Heritage Site as early as 1993 but its prospects remained mired in multiple administrative controls. In December 2003 it was handed by the to Archaeological Society of India.

"ASI is now committed to ensure that no further damage is done to the Red Fort and its ambiance," Sengupta said.

Source :- economictimes