07/12/2024
The National Centre for Safety of Heritage Structures (NCSHS) is delighted to announce that our project, conservation of Sri Abathsahayeswarar Temple, Thukkatchi has been honoured with the prestigious UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award of Distinction for Cultural Heritage Conservation on December 6, 2024.
The NCSHS provided technical expertise by preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) in 2022 and developing a conservation framework for living temples. Executed in 2023, the project culminated in a consecration ceremony on September 3, 2024, blending traditional knowledge systems with modern methods to define a comprehensive conservation strategy for living religious sites.
This achievement was made possible by the tireless efforts of our dedicated in-house team of architects and engineers, who conducted extensive research on the project during the challenging period of the pandemic (2019โ2022).
We are profoundly grateful for the support of our multidisciplinary expert team, representing Agama Shastra, Archaeology, Epigraphy, History, Social Science, and Sthapatya Veda. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all collaborators, the trust, and the entire Thukkatchi community for their invaluable contributions.
We would also like to express our gratitude to the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE) for giving us the opportunity to develop this framework for the conservation of Dravidian temples in Tamil Nadu.
We are deeply thankful to UNESCO for this recognition, which inspires us to continue our mission of safeguarding and celebrating heritage structures for future generations. Shivangi Shukla Bala
