Ahmedabad Bags UNESCO Tag to Become India’s First Heritage City

Ahmedabad joins the list of heritage cities like Paris and Edinburg.

The Gujarat government will develop a circuit which will join all heritage structures not just in Ahmedabad but also in areas around the city.

(Photo: iStock)

UNESCO on Saturday tagged Ahmedabad as a world heritage city, making it the first Indian city on the list. The walled city was in the race for the UNESCO title against Delhi and Mumbai.

The World Heritage Committee met in Karlow, Poland on Saturday night where the decision was made.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the tag has now put the city on the global map and it will help boost tourism.

Ahmedabad’s Minister of State for Urban Development Shankar Chaudhary said, "It is a matter of pride for us all. With this, we have to become even more responsible towards preserving the city and keeping our areas clean, as many tourists from outside the state and country will come here".

Ahmedabad’s nomination was received well by 20 countries who lauded the peaceful coexistence of Hindu, Islamic and Jain communities in the Gujarat city. WHC also stressed on the fact that Ahmedabad was the centre of non-violent freedom struggle that led to the Independence in 1947.

With this, Ahmedabad has joined the privileged club of cities like Paris, Cairo, Edinburg and two cities in subcontinent Bhaktpur in Nepal and Galle in Sri Lanka.

Shankar Chaudhary also said that the government will develop a circuit which will join all heritage structures, not just in Ahmedabad but also in areas around the city like Adalaj ni Vav in Gandhinagar, so that tourists visiting here could get to see a lot of other historic marvels.

(With inputs from PTI)