Mughal Gardens in Kashmir aim for UNESCO heritage tag

The famous Mughal Gardens of Kashmir are all set to get the UNESCO World Heritage tag. The Jammu and Kashmir government has signed an MoU with a private firm for the conservation of the Six gardens in the valley. 

With this tag, the government expects that tourism in the valley will get a boost and these gardens will be a must visit place. The department of Floriculture is working with various stakeholders for the conservation of these gardens. Many horticulturists, architects, historians and conservationists have been taken onboard for the conservation of these gardens. 

''If you see the Mughal Gardens, they are four centuries old and they are live gardens thronged by millions of tourists. Wear and tear will always be there so conservation works need to be done on a regular basis and the department has been actively doing it from time to time with due consultations with experts. Under their guidance we are conserving these places,'' said Javaid Masood, Floriculture Officer. "Once these sites are enlisted in the permanent list of world heritage sites, they will be must visit sites. They will be a common cultural site, a common heritage of humankind. When a site gets the tag of UNESCO, it's a big achievement and naturally tourist flow increases, it will bring a lot of benefits and promote tourism in Jammu and Kashmir."

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The team from UNESCO can come to inspect these gardens anytime now. The floriculture department is now working hard to restore and conserve these gardens in the best possible way before the inspection team arrives.

''The department of floriculture has been continuously working on the conservation of the Mughal Gardens. Due to the efforts of the department, Six gardens of Kashmir are in the tentative list of heritage gardens of the world. We are on the path of improving their status of conservation. The government has hired a Mumbai based consultancy for completion of nominations in UNESCO Heritage list,'' Masood said. 

If these Mughal gardens are enlisted in UNESCO heritage list, not only will it bring more tourists to Kashmir valley but will also put these sites on world map.