Srinagar's Amar Singh College Conservation Project honoured with UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation

As per the latest update, Srinagar based Amar Singh College has been recognized with the 'Award of Merit' in the 2020 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The college building is 80 years old and INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) chapter in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had carried out the conservation work at the Amar Singh College.

For the 2020 session, the award was announced on Wednesday by a jury, comprising nine international conservation experts. The jury convened from 20^th to 22^nd November to decide on the project entries received under the various awards categories. This year, the jury awarded two Special Recognition for Sustainable Development awards, one Award of Excellence, one Award of Distinction, one Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts and three Awards of Merit.

The deliberations were held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, INTACH's Jammu and Kashmir chapter said. Following the completion of the delibarations, the Amar Singh College was recognised with the 'Award of Merit' in the 2020 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

While bestowing the honour, the awards jury said that “"The restoration of the Amar Singh College brought back one of the most prominent institutional buildings in Kashmir to its former glory. Undertaken with a high level of technical proficiency, the project reversed major deterioration resulting from years of inappropriate additions, poor maintenance, and catastrophic events such as the unprecedented flooding in 2014.” It further added that “The project team's meticulous attention to original building design and materials involved training a new generation of building artisans in brick and stone masonry.”