IEP Chandigarh, November 2
First physical Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme on ‘Incorporating Aspects of Ancient Technology into Urban and Rural Planning for Sustainable Development – An Example from Haryana’ began at the Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA), Gurugram today. Sh. D S Dhesi, Chief Principal Secretary of Haryana Chief Minister inaugurated the two weeks long (November 2-15, 2022) ITEC programme sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs, (MEA) Government of India. The Participants are from 6 countries namely – Malawi, Maldives, Mauritius, Sudan Tajikistan and Iraq.The Ambassador of Sudan H.E. Sh. Abdalla Omer Bashir, Ambassador of Tajikistan H.E. Sh. Lukman Bobokalonzoda, High Commissioner of Maldives in India H.E. Sh. Ibrahim Shaheeb and High Commissioner of Mauritius in India H.E. Cd’A Jaysen Kovalen Ramaswamy were also present in the inaugural session. All of them while introducing themselves said that they have come to Haryana for the first time to participate in such a programme. They felt that the programme will help in understanding and sharing the rich cultural heritage of India and participating nations, which will pave forward the path to develop historical sites of their countries into tourist attractions. All participants will be visiting for study tour at the famous sites of archeological importance in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, including Red Fort, Old Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar in Delhi and Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Gurugram, Braham Sarovar, Jyotisar (birthplace of Holy Gita), Dharohar Museum in Kurukshetra, Pinjore Gardens in Panchkula, City Beautiful Chandigarh, Agra, Tajmahal etc.In his inaugural address Chief Principal Secretary to Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. D S Dhesi said that every country had something unique in its culture and heritage, from which one can learn new things. He said that in Haryana, aspects of archeology discovered in the state have been incorporated in both town and rural planning. The city of Chandigarh, which is capital of both Haryana & Punjab, was designed by a French Architect Le Corbusier who incorporated classical archaeological aesthetics from ancient Indian architecture such as using narrow frontages and orientation for minimizing direct exposure to the sun and maximizing natural ventilation while providing modern amenities in the international style and aesthetics. The Chandigarh Architecture represents the Indianisation of international style. ‘Similarly, Haryana has sites which hold special place in the history of mankind. There is a place called Kunal, about 160 KM away from Delhi, which is one of the oldest archeological sites in Hisar with layers in phase-1 dating back to 5000 BCE and 4000 BCE. This site’s culture is an older ancestry of the Pre-Harappan site of Rehman Dheri which was dated back to 3300 BC. Rakhigarhi in Hisar also dates back to 2600- 1900 BC, the archeological site which is being excavated where urban planning aspects have been discovered”, Sh. Dhesi said. He hoped that the deliberations by experts in this two-week program would open up new windows of thinking and the participants would be able to take advantage of that in urban planning after they return to their countries. He said that the MEA designs courses that lead to better governance, which are desired to meet the aspirations of the citizens of the country and to make the living of people easier.Earlier, Sh. Prabhat Kumar, Additional Secretary in MEA, said that the two weeks long course at HIPA is a very well designed course, discovering all stages of development of India. He said that In Kurukshetra, they will find ancient heritage while in Delhi, they would be able to see ancient, medieval and modern and how it has been blended with modern architecture. He said that the MEA is also restoring heritage sites. The sites in Afghanistan have been restored while restoration work at the sites in Vietnam, Laos and Maldives is in progress.The Course Director Ambassador Dr Kheya Bhattacharya (Retd.) apprised the participants of the structure of two weeks course and the topics of deliberations with names of speakers. Director General of HIPA Smt. Surina Rajan while welcoming the participants and guests highlighted the activities taken up in the institute.
