Participants at the workshop. Picture by Prashant Pradhan

Gangtok, Sept. 10: A change in fortunes, for the better, is predicted for all heritage sites in Sikkim that are more than a century old.

The four-day technical workshop on conservation of the historical monuments comes as the first step following the government’s decision to preserve Sikkim’s glorious past for future generations.

The need for the conservation of historical monuments has never featured on Sikkim’s list of priorities. “But now is the time to put our act together and conserve Sikkim’s heritage before things get out of hand,” a delegate said.

The workshop, at the banquet hall of the Assembly, opened today to a full house of engineers of the government, mostly from the buildings and housing department, and architects.

Organised by the culture department, the workshop is being assisted by the Action Research for Cultural Heritage (ARCH), Calcutta, and the Architects of Sikkim. Chief secretary S.W. Tenzing presided over the inaugural day’s function as the chief guest.

The workshop, said Tenzing, “will not only strive towards preserving, but also help learn from our forefathers who had built structures from simple raw material that still exist after hundreds of years despite withstanding the ravages of time”.

Commissioner-cum-secretary, cultural affairs, Jaishree Pradhan said: “The government has already flagged off conservation strategies. A heritage conservation committee chaired by the chief secretary, with representations from all government departments, has already been formed to work on this front. Plans have also been initiated after approval of the empowerment committee.”

A lake and water bodies’ conservation committee is taking up conservation of the Khechoepalri Lake in West Sikkim. Other old structures like Dak Bungalows, the Raj Bhavan at Gangtok, the Judges’ bungalows and three war memorials have also been identified for the purpose. A similar study will be conducted at the old Labrang monastery in North Sikkim, she added.

The technical session kicked off in the afternoon. People from outside the state, including experts like Manish Chakraborty, A.P. Gupta, Sanjay Dhar and Tapan Bhattacharya, participated.