Mapping religious institutions for conservation
Mapping Bengal’s ancient religious institutions for conservation
The Bengal government has decided to map all of the state’s ancient religious institutions, which have been eventually worn out by time, in order to preserve them.
A decision to map all these religious institutions has been taken by the information and cultural affairs department under two programs – ‘Maha Tirtha Bhumi’ (Great Pilgrimage Land) and ‘Maha Punnya Bhumi’ (Great Sacred Land).
Some will be directly conserved by the government, while some will be conserved by a public-private-partnership.
Two such examples of ancient temples are Devi Chaudhurani temple in north Bengal and the temple of Bon Bibi in the Sunderban mangroves, the world’s largest delta inhabited by tigers.
Legend goes that bandit queen Devi Choudhurani had established the Kali temple deep inside the forest where she used to take shelter. Bon Bibi is a forest deity revered both by Hindus and Muslims in the Sunderbans.
This initiative will preserve the cultural heritage of Bengal for future generations to appreciate and cherish.
