Dholavira, a Harappan-era city in Kutch district of Gujarat, was included in the UNESCO's World Heritage list during the ongoing 44th session of its World Heritage Committee.
With this, Gujarat now has four sites in the UNESCO's World Heritage list, including Champaner (added in 2004), Rani Ki Vav (2014) and the historic city of Ahmedabad (2017), a release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) stated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his happiness through his post on Twitter. The post read: "Absolutely delighted by this news.
Dholavira was an important urban centre and is one of our most important linkages with our past. It is a must visit, especially for those interested in history, culture and archaeology."
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In another Tweet PM Modi reminiscence his old days. His post read: I first visited Dholavira during my student days and was mesmerised by the place. As CM of Gujarat, I had the opportunity to work on aspects relating to heritage conservation and restoration in Dholavira. Our team also worked to create tourism-friendly infrastructure there.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani called the inclusion of Dholavira in the UNESCO's World Heritage list as a proud moment for the state, and said this would give the region an opportunity to once again shine on the world heritage map.
"It is a matter of immense pride that the @UNESCO has conferred the World Heritage tag to Dholavira, a Harappan city in Kutch. This shows the firm commitment of our Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji towards promoting Indian culture and heritage," Rupani tweeted.
By declaring Dholavira, the oldest town of Harappan culture located in Kutch district of Gujarat, as a World Heritage site, the UNESCO has given Gujarat the pride of being a state with four such sites, the release issued by the CMO stated.
Dholavira became an attraction for tourists interested in ancient sites during the Kutch Rannotsav that was started by Modi during his term as the chief minister, it said.
Dholavira, located in an island called Khadir in the Great Rann of Kutch, has one of the world's earliest water conservation systems ever excavated, as per the Gujarat Tourism Department. The site was unearthed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 1967, but has been systematically excavated only since 1990.
It is one of the two largest Harappan sites in India, and fifth largest in the subcontinent. Like Lothal, it passed through all the stages of the Harappan culture from circa 2900 BC to 1500 BC, it says on its website.
(With Inputs From Nitesh Kumar)