Arunachal to push for Thembang to be UNESCO World Heritage Site

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Art & Culture and Education minister Taba Tedir on Thursday said that all necessary support would be provided by the state government to include the Thembang village in West Kameng district in the final list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The minister’s assurance came following concerns raised by the Thembang Heritage Village Council (THVC) and locals over the delay in including the ancient village in the final list of World Heritage Sites.

The THVC which also submitted a memorandum in this regard to the minister said “though Thembang Village was nominated for a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the year 2014 along with the Ziro Valley in Lower Subansiri district; it is yet to make it to the final list of the UNESCO.”

The Arunachal Pradesh government has already declared Thembang as a state heritage site in the year 2015.  The village could be a great asset and pride for our state if it makes it to the final list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the memorandum read.

Perched on a hilltop at an elevation of 2,300 meters, 12th-century-old fortified Thembang is home to many historical structures, the most important being the 12th century Dzong (fortified building).

It has two gates – one at the northern end and the other at the southern end, which is for an emergency.

The greatest strength of Thembang lies in the way its inhabitants maintain ecological equilibrium as part of their socio-cultural life. To maintain the legacy of their vernacular architecture, the Monpas have taken the help of their traditional knowledge systems, in turn, saving their natural and cultural heritage.

None of the settlers individually own any property inside the village, which is run by a panchayat system.

Minister Tedir, on a two-day tour of West Kameng district also visited the Government Polytechnic College, Sarada Mission School and the ongoing construction site of Government Higher Secondary School, Dirang.

While interacting with the teachers and students of the Polytechnic College, Tedir informed that the government has already allotted Rs 1 crore each for the administration building, library and thirty-bedded boy’s hostel.

A sum of Rs 50 lakh for the playground and Rs 30 lakh for the internal road connection has also been sanctioned and the work is being executed by the PWD, he said while adding that all support will be provided by the government to get the final approval from All India Council for Technical Education.

Tedir on the day also inaugurated the information and communication technology laboratory constructed under Project JIGYASA at the Government Secondary School in Rama Camp.

The minister was accompanied by the local MLA and advisor to the PWD minister Phurpa Tsering, ZPC Rinchin Zomba Merakpa, secondary education special secretary Saurabh Shaswat, elementary education special secretary Soumya Sourabh and other heads of departments. (With inputs on Thembang village from Live History India)

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